TMNT: Rise of the Dragon
by Ravyne and Katt B
Summary: Living with revenge all your life can chill your blood to ice...and that's just what she wanted. But she isn't expecting four shadows from her past to show up and stir up emotions that she long thought she rid herself of. Turns out love can thaw that ice just as quickly as it freezes. Maybe she isn't as well trained as she thought. (COMPLETED!) (Yes, there may be a little romance.)
1. Prologue

**So my name is Katt B. I decided to write my own story and Ravyne** (KB) **offered to let me use her account. Since she and I are both very busy with life, I decided to make her my co-writer so that if there are any chapters I can't get to then she'll be able to take over and finish it up. I will be breaking up the whole season of the cartoon into segments because, personally, I don't like having to read a story any longer than twenty chapters.**

 **So here's the first part.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _Prologue:_**

 _The air is filled with the thick smell of smoke and burning ash. It's hard to breathe; even more impossible to see. But not for her, a small little girl of seven years old. Her deep blue eyes filled with tears that streamed down her ash smeared face, leaving trails along her rounded cheeks. Her small sobs filled the skies above the roar of the raging fire that now engulfed what little remained of her house. The thick smoke billowed into the night sky above, blocking out the light from the moon and stars with its dark, poisonous fumes._

 _She was the only one who made it out, she was the only one who now sat out in the dark, letting the light from the blaze highlight her with its fiery glow. Now she was left alone. No family to hold her, to comfort her; they remained inside the core of the hellfire without her. She'd always be alone now._

 _Forever._

 _"Come, little dragon."_

 _She looked up into the icy blue-white eyes of the dark skinned man who stood over her. His pale blonde hair was swept back over his head and then cascaded down his back while a shorter piece, tied off from the rest, hung over his shoulder in deeper shades of brown. She would come to know that as their number one feature._

 _Needing the comfort of someone's embrace, she reached up towards the unknown man with her small arms and he lifted her to her feet where she buried her face into his side. Looking back one last time to the raging inferno that had consumed her former home, the small child hid her tear soaked face in the man's warm waist and cried harder than ever before._

 _"We will take care of you now," The man told her in his deep voice as he rubbed her back gently, "You will always be safe with us, little dragon."_

 _Always._

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	2. Chapter 1: 1-17 TCRI

**Chapter one is basically me introducing Ryu and her 'working' personality. (Honestly, I don't know why I bother with these "Author's Note" because no one bothers to read them, but Ravyne** (KB) **says that it's polite to put something personal above/below the actual story.**

 **But whatever, I hope you enjoy.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _1_**

 ** _1-17: "TCRI":_**

The hood of her cloak hangs down low over her eyes, the gentle night breeze tossing it around every so often to reveal her right eye which gleams a deep amber in the moonlight. Her silvery white hair covers her other eye, which she keeps hidden from the world, and then falls over her shoulder in a tight braid that is clasped at the end with a single red bead decorated with a black rune of unknown origins. The city scape before her, a black silhouette against the dark blue sky beyond, reaches for the arriving stars above in towering buildings of various heights.

 _Just another city, just another search. Just another city, just another search_ , she keeps chanting the words over and over to herself as she gazes down at a small, square sheet of white paper in her slim fingers. There's a long list of directions that will lead her to her new living quarters, a place where she can lay low without drawing attention to herself while she works.

 _A temporary home_ , she tells herself, _Nowhere will ever be home for me._

Her eyes lift up to gaze at the city skyline again as the breeze picks up, twirling a few loose strands of her silvery-white hair. They toss around playfully across her cheeks, but not enough to draw any emotion to her stone cold face. No matter how warm that amber gaze looks, it will always only ever be in color.

 _Let's get this over with._

* * *

She kicks at the old rusty chain fence and it clatters open, her grip tightening on the straps of her old draw string back pack; a bag that looks like it's been around the world twice and back again. The hems are frayed in most areas, others obviously patched up by hand, but it holds sternly. She gazes at the area around her: an old abandoned junkyard. Her eyes narrow in dismay.

 _Well_ , she thinks, _I can't really be choosy. Most people in the world don't have homes to live in and I know what that's like._ The chain link fence behind her clatters and she shifts her eyes to the right without turning her head, scanning the intruder. No quick vibrations come from him, no hint of any ill intentions. She blinks her eyes back to her usual blank expression and turns around.

"You must be the new tenant," the older man states, spitting onto the ground. "Old Louie told me they'd be comin' today. Didn't say you'd be a girl. You sure you're old enough to run a business, sweetheart?"

Switching up her expression with ease, she takes a few steps towards him with a smile and reaches into the side pocket of her cargo pants, hanging low on her hips. She pulls out her green, worn out, cloth wallet and flips it open to show him the license behind the clear plastic display piece on one side. Fake, of course, but this poor simpleton needn't know that.

"Yes, sir. I'm Lisa. Just graduated from college, but spent the last ten years working for my dad in his shop. I was born for this job."

 _More than you know_ , she finishes in her thoughts. She quickly flips her wallet closed and stuffs it back in her pocket, smiling wider. "I got my mother's genes; all us Sigmond girls look younger than our age," She explains to him.

The older man, maybe late fifties, throws his head back and laughs, "Sure would be nice if you could pass that secret on to my wife."

She raises an eyebrow at the man. Surely he didn't mean that. She rolls her eyes, _this is the city; all the people are heartless here._

Right about now, she's wishing she had taken the job in a more rural town. Country people always seemed more welcoming to her.

"Well, this place was Louie's pride and joy. He may have retired and sold the place, but don't muddy its reputation, you got that?"

"I'll raise it higher," She promises, her small smile more genuine now than the guy would ever know. He waves goodbye and she closes the gate behind him, securing the lock on the chain this time. When she turns back around to face her new living quarters once again, she runs her gaze over the towering piles of junk.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

"Ugh, finally!" She shuts down the computer, pleased with her final chore for the night: sending a message back to her guardians to give them a report on her progress.

It had been simply wrote: **grounded in, hating the location, but ready to work.**

And their reply had been just as simple: **you'll have to deal with it for a few months. We've had reports of the company here and confirmed that material you need is in their possession. Get started, Ryu.**

With that she had shut down the communication line and fired up the security system of her own design. It would be the only line of defense she'd have here until the base is finished. Kicking the chair back under the old desk she'd found out lying forgotten in the junkyard above, she heads back upstairs to the main shop. She isn't exactly fond of having to live in the basement, but it would have to do for right now. She doesn't open the 'shop' for a few days so she'd have plenty of time to set up the real base.

Right now though, it's time for her to get started on the fun stuff.

She ducks into the bathroom behind the counter that would become the front desk of the shop and drops her bag on the floor. Pulling open the draw strings, she stares down at her uniform, folded neatly inside, and smiles. This is her real job; her real life.

And she welcomes it every night.

* * *

Hood pulled tightly over her head, she sighs deeply. Already, three people have passed her with looks of disgust and shock at the few strands of her white hair that have slipped out into public view. _There must be a simpler way to move around this city at night to avoid this kind of scrutiny_ , she wonders, glaring at the cement under her feet.

She turns the next corner and stops, leaning against the brick wall to study her target. The building is huge, towering high over her like a lightning rod trying to touch the sky above. Problem is, dark clouds are barring its path.

 _Okay...hadn't expected it to be so big_ , she mentally groans, _minor miscalculation_. She takes out her phone and looks back over her information to make sure this is the right place. Sure enough, the symbol her guardians had sent her, a beehive-looking shape, is the same as the logo on the side of the tall building. _Great, this is going to take longer than I thought._

She takes a few steps down the sidewalk towards the building before jogging leisurely across the street, thinking how she had never once taken notice of this building the last time she'd been in New York. Right before she can enter the doors, she spots a person approaching her from the opposite direction and she ducks back into the shadow of the building. The person is wearing a hood too, pushing a rolling cart loaded down with a huge cardboard box.

 _Now that's not suspicious at all_ , she thinks, narrowing her gaze. The second the automatic doors open to let the other person in and then close, she follows close behind. Not two steps into the huge front lobby, the hooded person in front of her calls…

"Special delivery!"

She ducks close to the wall, swinging out behind a weird column that widens out as it reaches the floor, and pauses. The hooded figure's voice had sounded female, young, but what would a kid be doing here and at these hours?

The hooded girl shoves the rolling cart forward with a grunt and it bumps to a stop inside the elevator before the doors close it in.

 _Okay, something else is going on here_ , she thinks. Looking back at the other girl, she finds her caught by the arm by an older lady who had been at the front desk.

"I must ask you to leave," The older woman says bluntly, sounding robotic. "We are closed right now."

Out of nowhere, six tall men, all looking like identical siblings, come strolling towards the hooded girl with seriously strange armored up guns. One of them continues speaking in the same tone as the receptionist lady had with a robotic accent saying, "The package that is delivered to us by you will not be delivered by you to us because you will be stopped by us before you-."

"Love to chat, but I gotta run!" The hooded girl cuts the guy off, jerking out of the lady's grasp before flashing her phone's camera in her face and spinning out an orange yoyo toy over her head in a wide circle, like a lasso. The taller men back up to avoid the toy and the hooded girl races back out the automatic doors into the night.

Back in the corner behind the column, she follows the other girl out with her eyes. _Whoa, that was a pretty resourceful move. Wonder where she learned that._

The six identical suit guys head for the elevator and press the open button and it lights up at their command. "Kraang, prepare to destroy the thing that is needing to be destroyed by Kraang."

 _Geez, did these idiots go to school at all or do they just like making a mockery of the English language?_ She thinks, eyeing the elevator warily. The men all aim their weird guns at the elevator, waiting like statues for whatever is inside. Doing what she does best, she squats low to the floor and places her hand against the cool surface, feeling for vibrations so she can get a read on whatever it is that had been pushed into the elevator.

Nothing happens.

 _What the heck_ , she thinks. Her eyes fall to the floor and she glares at the shiny surface, her reflection staring back with the same confusion. _Just what is this stuff?_

It looks like regular metal, maybe just a new style of flooring that people want to try, but she isn't able to 'feel' through it. This isn't any type of metal she's come across in her life.

A loud roar tears her out of her thoughts and she snaps her head back up just as a monstrous creature comes barreling out of the elevator doors. The men start firing their guns and she ducks away behind the column as one of the bullets ricochet off the wall by her head.

"Those…are not…guns!" She growls through her teeth, peeking back up over the curve of the column. "Those are laser guns! Who the heck are these people?!"

The receptionist lady calls out above the firing weapons "contain him, contain him" but the huge alligator creature is taking out the identical guys too fast for them to do so.

"Yeah, I'm not going to get involved in all this crazy crap," she hisses to herself. "Just go get the material and get out, Ryu." Keeping close to the wall, she slips past all the chaos and ducks into the elevator just as the doors close once more. She presses the button for the top floor, deciding that it would be easier to search this place from top to bottom so that she can make a hasty escape if need be. Leaning back against the back wall, she gazes up at the display screen above the door as the red, digital numbers increase with each floor she passes, but then it stops. She blinks in confusion.

A ding of the door has her body going tense and she readies herself to run. She doesn't like to fight if she can help it, but won't hesitate to do so if it has to come to that. It's what she's been trained for. The elevator doors slide open.

She's not really sure how to register what she's seeing; whether she should be straight up confused or completely grossed out.

"Robots," she says. Beyond the doors is a whole hallway full of those identical suit guys, a few of them slipping into those said suits, others pulling on fleshly masks, while others look just like the guys from the front lobby only fiddling with those armored up laser guns. "Robots," she repeats, "Yeah. Totally didn't see that coming. I think I need to wash my eyes."

"It is one known as what the ones called humans refer to as an intruder," One of the robots points at her and they begin to move towards her, aiming their guns at her chest.

She dashes forward, reaching quickly for the buttons, but a few of the robots make it onboard with her. One of them shoves the barrel of their gun right into her face, forcing her to pause, and she sighs in frustration.

It's at this second that she recognizes the scan screen above the floor buttons. _Of course_ , she thinks, _a retinal scanner. So I'll need one of these guys to move the elevator again._

She raises her hands in surrender, turning to face the armed robots slowly with a sheepish smile. Their eyes glow a pinkish-purple, making them look even weirder. "Well, I guess all that wishing for an easy night was for nothing," She shrugs, the robots raising their guns higher in response to her voice.

She shifts her right wrist subtly, feeling the metal wristband hidden away under her dark green cotton arm warmer react to the command, and an iron dart double the size of a tooth pick is shot up into her awaiting palm. She flips it through her fingers like a playing card and her sheepish smile shifts into an impish grin.

"Oh well," She finishes. With a sharp jab, she runs the tooth pick though the digital screen above the retinal scanner and an alarm blares out suddenly, the lights flickering out above them. When they come back on, they have turned red, switching on and off in time with the alarm.

 _Perfect cover_ , she thinks. The robots glance up for a moment and she takes that distraction to attack, dropping to spin kick the nearest one off its legs. It drops with a heavy clang and the other robots responds by letting loose a flurry of laser fire. She's forced to dodge, unable to pause to land an attack, but it doesn't really bother her the second she realizes that their random laser fires are knocking each other out. She flips off the back wall just as the last laser gun is fired and two robots facing each other start to spark and short out to a halt.

Her feet land on the elevator floor right in front of the door again with barely any room to spare. A second later, there's a new sound. Something metallic, like a hatch, opens up from above and then something small flies towards the floor. It's white and round, hardly visible in the poor lighting, but she catches the movement out of the corner of her eyes and she has a brief second to realize what it is. Gasping, she tears out of her hoody, flipping it off over her head and dropping it to the floor, and unclips her gas mask off her belt from its hook on her hip.

A purple smoke fills the room up in seconds just as she's slipping it on over her mouth and nose. With the flashing lights above giving the small space a strobe light feel, she is able to just make out the forms of four large shapes come flying down from the escape hatch above. They start swinging their weapons around crazily, aiming for the two robots just beginning to fall to the floor, and she's forced to doge their attacks in a flurry.

"Guys, guys, stop! We're not hitting anything," A male voice calls out. The figures stop swinging on command. "They're…already…out."

"How?" Another voice asks. The lights flicker again and one of the figures turns towards her. It attacks from her left, swiftly, faster than anything she's ever seen in a long time. In a flash, she holds up her right arm and the approaching weapon strikes the metallic bracelet under her arm warmer with a sharp clang. The light system corrects itself then with a low whirl and returns to normal, bathing the inside of the elevator with normal white light instead of the freakish red-purple glow it had been.

"Uh…"

Her eyes stay blank as she takes in the figures before her. She knows them. She's seen them once before, the last time she visited New York, a long time ago. They stare back at her with not so blank expressions. One of them, baring two katanas, wears a blue mask. Another, the tallest of the group with a bow staff in his hands, wears a purple mask. The shortest, with nun chucks, wears an orange mask. And the last, who bares his sai very close to her head if not for her arm, wears a red mask.

"Um…" The one in the blue mask mutters. He stares at her in a combination of hesitation and confusion, but taps his comrade's shoulder nervously all the same. "Raph…"

"What?" The red one barks, showing no signs of backing down.

With a single movement, she turns her hand so that she can move the tip of his weapon out of her face with two fingers so she can step towards him. Stopping not four inches from his face, finding him the same height as herself, she reaches slowly around him; taking each movement cautiously. His eyes widen in surprise at her approach but none of them move, everyone kind of caught off guard at the moment. She watchfully takes the severed robot head the short, orange one holds, the poor guy staring at her with his jaw dropped, and then backs away towards the elevator doors again. Still none of them move, none of them speak; even she's not sure how to address them.

They wouldn't remember her anyway, they hadn't seen her before. _Don't get involved_ , she tells herself as she holds the robot head up to the retinal scanner. _The less people who know about you here the better._

The elevator dings and a female, robot voice comes through the speaker, granting them access. The elevator starts to climb up the shaft slowly again. Swallowing, she stays facing the door, unable to break the silence that surrounds them with tension.

"Um…so…" The tallest one laughs nervously. He doesn't continue.

"Miss, you're probably wondering why there are talking turtles dropping into the elevator but-." The blue one starts.

"Leo! She could be Kraang!" The red one snaps angrily.

"Uh…look around genius. We're surrounded by Kraang bodies. I'm pretty sure she's not one of the Kraang," The purple one bites back.

"That doesn't mean anything!"

"Raph, Donnie's right," The blue one, Leo, says with all the authority of a leader. "So, miss, as I was saying, you don't need to be scared of us 'cause we're not-."

"Oh, I know." She finally speaks. They all pause in hesitation.

"You…know?" Leo asks.

"Monster alligators, freaky robots, and now you guys; this town gets more and more interesting every time I come to visit. I have to admit, though, I didn't expect to be running into Splinter's boys," She shrugs, her voice sounding like static coming through her face mask.

"Hey, guys, she knows master Splinter!" The orange one exclaims excitedly. "She's family!"

"Then what would we call Shredder, ya moron?" Raph growls at him.

The orange one pauses, hands still held high in the air mid-cheer, and for a long moment she doesn't think he's going to respond but then, "Uncle?"

Raph smacks him over the head.

"Guys, enough. Ma'am, how do you know us? Or Splinter for that matter?"

She glances to the side, eyeing his katanas thoughtfully. She looks back up at the digital display screen over the doors. One floor from the top. _That'll have to do_ , she says mentally. Touching the button for her floor, it lights up and the elevator jerks to a stop. "Looks like this is my floor."

"Wait you can't just-!" Raph starts to growl something but then the doors ding and open. They all pause in shock. Kraang robots bar their path, aiming those laser guns again. She blinks, propping a hand on her hip.

"Soo…clear this up for me. These guys aren't regular robots are they?" She grumbles.

"They're alien brain bots from dimension X," The orange one explains with a proud smile.

"Mikey!" The others snap at him.

"Great," she responds. "Perfect. Just what I need: more obstacles. My life just keeps getting better and better."

With that, she raises her hand, calling out the fist-sized rock from inside the small pouch hanging on the side of her belt. The top flap on the pouch opens up on its own and the rock floats up out of it to hover in a circle above her awaiting palm. She can hear them fumble for words behind her, but ignores them.

"See ya around," She flicks her fingers, the rock breaking apart into smaller pieces, and then she flings them forward. The pebbles fly at an alarming speed, embedding into the barrels of their guns so that their shots are blocked. The elevator doors start to close again, but not before she races out, jumps up to step on one of the robot's head and propelling herself towards the wall. She runs along it safely over the group of aliens and then lands safely on the other side of the hall.

Back at the elevator, the doors slide to a shut on the turtles' awed expressions as they gap in union, "Whoa…"

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	3. Chapter 2: 1-24 Operation Breakout

**So here's a new chapter. Hope to read some feedback soon.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _2_**

 ** _1-24: "Operation Breakout"_**

"And here are your keys. It's all fixed up and ready to go," She smiles at the older gentleman before her, ignoring the strong desire to stretch tiredly.

"Thanks so much, dear. I've been trying to get it fixed for months," He smiles back.

"Well, I'm glad I could help," she tells him. He nods, accepting the keys to his Buick from her and she waves goodbye. "Have a nice day."

The second the door closes behind him, her practiced smile vanishes from her face and she collapses against the wall in exhaustion. She'd gone two days and nights now without sleep; sure she's used to it but it doesn't mean her body agrees with the life style. After a brief moment of rest, she flips the lock on the front door and turns the sign to closed.

She takes the side door out to the enclosed junkyard, weaving her way around the junk piles, and walks right up to an old phone booth standing next to the biggest of the piles. This junk heap in particular is thirty feet high, perfect for the base she needed to build under it. She pops open the door to the booth and squeezes in.

Taking a deep, centering breath, she closes her eyes to focus. Her power stretches out towards the earth around her and all its elements: metals, irons, coppers, and brass. Even the earth itself responds to her power; all their songs raising their voices and flowing into her ears. These songs she's grown up with, these voices she knows like no other. The sounds fill her up with a comforting warmth, like coming home, and she smiles. It's thanks to her guardians that she has this gift; the power to persuade earth.

With a soft lift of her right thumb, the floor of the booth shudders with a load grumble and begins to lower down the shaft she hallowed out with her powers on her second day here. As the make-shift elevator travels down underground, her thoughts drift back to her first night here.

Running into Splinter's boys, finding out about the crazy alien robots and their evil plan to terraform the earth into their own; it was a lot to take in. She had been fishing around on the floor below the top one for at least ten minutes before running into that giant alligator creature she'd seen in the main lobby again. He had turned out to be really polite and nice, despite his monstrous appearance. Even now, thinking about him, it sends a shiver of unease down her spine. How many more of his size are stomping around this city? Then again, the more appropriate question would be: how did they even **become** that size in the first place?

The shaft ends, no door opens up for her. She merely steps off the floor pad into her base and it lifts back up the tunnel at her command. Being down here, wrapped in the solid embrace of the earth, has always felt so much safer to her.

Unlike how she'd felt in that TCRI building. She had followed after the alligator creature, who had claimed to be friends of the turtles, and walked in on a huge battle. And by huge, she means huge. A giant rock monster had been stomping around the room, the turtles trying their best to destroy what they claimed was some kind of portal, all the while the alligator was fending off the said rock giant so they could do just that. It was chaos.

She'd had to dodge the lasers of a few Kraang that had tried to pull her into the battle, but she hadn't had that kind of luxury. Instead she slid under the legs of the alligator and the rock giant as they battled it out on the base of the 'portal' thing and tore up a floor plate on the base. After seeing all the thick, heavy-duty, power cables connected to the base of the portal, she had deducted that the base was the most logical place for all the main power to be stored and expended. Next, she had simply crawled her way under the floor panels of the base and started to mole around for the tech she needed. Flinching every time the battle above thundered through the floor right on top of her head, she'd tried to stay focused and eventually found the perfect beginning piece to help her start building her project.

And it all ended with the alligator being drawn into the portal with the rock giant, never to be seen again. It had been sad to witness, sure, but it hadn't been any of her business.

Stepping into the open area that makes up her base, the computers come alive and power up in preparation for her work. One computer blinks with an alert; a new message from her guardians. It's an update on her mission.

Only one: **ignore the Kraang. Focus on the mission, Ryu.**

"Duh," she rolls her eyes. The alarm on her phone buzzes in her cargo pocket and she pulls it out. 'Time for sleep' it reads. She slips out of her roll around chair, glad that she had decided to forge the dirt into solid rock when she first hallowed this base out, and goes to the far corner by her private elevator where a hammock hangs from the ceiling. No pillows, just a simply cotton blanket; she didn't need anything else. It's not like she's settling down here. It's just another stop in her mission. Curling up in the rope weave of the hammock, she allows her eyes to drift closed and lets her spirit stretch out and merge with the warm earth around her. The songs sing her to sleep.

At least until her alarm goes off again. She groans and sits up, complaining, "I just laid down." Her clock says otherwise; she's actually overslept her hour by twenty-two minutes. The realization throws her to her feet and across the room to the old trunk where she now stores her uniform.

She slips on the shorts, the hems around her thighs sewn into gold spirals and curls, then straps on her brown leather belt, two extensions of the belt hanging down the fronts of her thighs to clip to the tops of her black leggings that come just over her knees. Next is her top, covering her neck and left shoulder but exposing her right as it wraps over her chest and under her right arm, the edges sewn with the same gold spirals and curls. The top is separated into two colors, the top being green while the bottom half that wraps around her back and left side of her rib cage is black, revealing her stomach; a single line of gold separates the two halves with a flash of color. The top of the shirt that covers her left shoulder is sleeveless, attached simply to a single bang of faded gold fabric that wraps over the top of her deltoid muscle and down the center of her arm where it connects to a half sleeve that covers from her mid-upper arm to her wrist.

The only accessories that she allows herself are the necessities: her forest green arm warmer that hides her metal wrist band loaded with iron darts, her brown boots wrapped with deep green belt accents, and a small pouch hooked to the side of her belt that she fills with only two types of spheres at a time depending on her mood the night she goes out. Aside from that, only her whip hangs at her side out of the way unless she direly has need of it.

The claw-like, bone-colored earrings she always wears were a gift to her from a friend when she was ten years old, but other than that she's never been one to favor jewelry. And as for her uniform, she only wears it at night on missions. Wearing it during the day would only leave her tattoos open for public view and they're not exactly normal tattoos. The tribal-like symbols are a faded black, light against her skin as if they're a part of her flesh. She's gotten weird looks at them before and it annoyed her to no end.

After dressing, she heads back up her elevator and dashes out of the phone booth to the locked chain fence leading into the junkyard. She keeps it permanently locked at all times to avoid people being nosy, so now she's forced to climb over it physical and leap down into the street on the other side.

Ducking into the alley across the street, she climbs the fire escape to the roof, a highway she's learned to use to keep out of sight, and the cool night wind greets her as she does.

* * *

Ryu peeks around the corner quietly, eyeballing the turtle's back suspiciously. Since being here, she's spotted them racing around on the roof tops almost every night, but she hardly ever sees them apart from each other. Now is one of those rare nights.

 _Now, what are you up to, Donnie?_ , she wonders silently, watching the tallest turtle in his purple mask pick the lock of the small garage door and slide it up so that he can enter the auto shop. He closes it after him just as quietly. So far she's been avoiding them, evading their questions which she's sure that they have, but only because she hadn't left Splinter's side on good terms. He had never agreed with the road she's chosen to walk in life; he'd tried many times to change her mind which drove her to leave in the first place. She had chosen this road for a reason and she's not about to change her mind. Not with that murderer still on the loose.

Not long later, her questions are answered when a commotion breaks out inside the auto shop. Through the cloudy windows, flashes of familiar neon pinkish-purple light up the inside of the building followed by the sounds of muffled laser fire. "Kraang," she growls through her teeth, "Why am I not surprised?"

She jogs up to the nearest window, sticking to the shadows as she was taught, and tries to see inside but the glass is too dingy to peek through. She's forced to use the access that Donnie had. Sure enough, the lock on the door is cleanly picked, rather professionally. She'd already had suspicions that Donnie was smart, but she hasn't quite figured out just how smart yet.

Inside, the laser fire ends suddenly, followed a moment later by a loud crash, and she pulls open the door to slide under it. If the Kraang are here, that means there is sure to be tech here that she can use as well. _And I can't pass up an opportunity like that_ , she thinks.

Inside, it's quiet. Bodies of Kraang bots are scattered on the floor. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. Unless you count the giant rectangle hole leading deep underground, quite obviously trying to be disguised as an everyday car lift. Shrugging, she grabs hold of one of the four metal braces lining the corners of the hole and slides down it, letting the darkness swallow her.

At the bottom, she finds herself in an underground base much like her own, except all the walls, floors, and ceilings are lined in that strange Kraang metal that is unknown to her. Already her skin is beginning to crawl and her gut is screaming at her to get out. She reaches out to tap the smooth, shiny foreign metal of the wall to her right and it dings dully; no song singing out to her.

Silent. Dead.

"Ew," she groans. "Well, suck it up. Just go look around, Ryu." She forces her frozen feet to move and heads out to explore the Kraang facility, positive that she'd find something that she could use. And if not, she'd just take something that looks important and leave.

It would be for a good cause! She'd set the Kraang's plans behind and she'd have some extra junk lying around. Perfect.

As she turns down another hall, she finally gets curious of all the identical doors she's been passing. Each one with an identical key pad outside of it. _Are these creeps OCD or something?_ , she thinks as she cups her hands around her eyes to peek into the dark rooms through the small windows in the doors. It's pitch black inside, like the total darkness you'd find deep in mountain caverns.

Abruptly, there is a pair of glowing red eyes staring back at her and she leaps away from the door in surprise. "What the-?" she squeaks.

"It is the human that is in alliance with the ones called the turtles."

Ryu spins to her right, facing the way she had come, and finds a handful of Kraang bots aiming laser guns at her. "First off, learn English. Secondly, learn some grammar. And thirdly, not an ally," She spins on her toe and takes off in the opposite direction as fast as her legs can carry her. Skidding around the next corner she runs into the nearest room she can find and an automatic door shuts behind her…

Closing her in a large computer room with none other than Donnie. The brainiac squeaks and spins around, drawing a smirk onto her face.

He points his bow staff at her and a long blade shoots out at her throat. "Whoa! Hey, chill!" She exclaims, raising her hands in surrender.

"Oh, wow, sorry," He fumbles, withdrawing the blade back into the staff. "Thought you were the Kraang."

"Wouldn't surprise me. They're everywhere down here," She drops her hands and grabs her chest, focusing on getting her heartbeat back under control. "Thanks for not cutting me in two."

"Oh, uh…sure," He keeps glancing at the large computer in the center of the room, obviously not wanting to meet her eyes.

"So what are you doing down here?" She asks, making small-talk while she lies down on her back to open up a panel under the computer itself.

"I could…ask you the same thing," He shoots back.

 _Fair enough_ , she thinks, _he doesn't have any reason to trust me._ She doesn't pause in her work, popping off the panel and exposing the inner wirings of the computer. There's so much here she can take, but she'll have to just deal with taking what she really needs for right now. Pulling out her phone, she hooks it up to the wire board and gets to work downloading all the information she can while she pulls off the parts she needs. "Oh, you know," Ryu carries on, "Just causing trouble, stealing tech, and pretty much living life; nothing new since the last time we saw each other."

"Hmm." He pauses for a second, but then, "Why exactly are you stealing tech from the Kraang?"

She pauses in her work, setting her phone down by her head so that she can use both her hands, and glances up at him guardedly.

"Right, no answer," he nods.

"Well, you didn't give me one," she points out as she checks the download progress on her phone screen. Already eighty-three percent. Easy-peasy.

"Touché. Alright, I'm here to rescue somebody."

"Who, one of your brothers? The red one seems like one to get himself into trouble a lot."

Donnie chuckles lightly, "Yeah, but no it's not him. Kirby O'Neal."

Her phone buzzes, finished downloading, and she unplugs it from the computer along with her pilfered tech. It would help her translate the Kraang programs into her own language so that she can start modifying them for herself. Standing up, she raises an eyebrow at him, "Who?"

"Mr. O'Neal. He's April's dad," He repeats, typing away on the Kraang computer.

"April…April…Hmm…" She runs the name over and over in her head but it doesn't ring any bells.

"She's a friend of ours."

"Okay, well, I hope it all works out for you," she grins, hearing the utter infatuation in his voice when he says April's name.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demands, his tone taking a high note in panic.

She wants to laugh so hard. _He's got it bad_ , she thinks. She turns to look back over her shoulder with a grin, "I mean between you and that girl."

"What?!" His face, green as it is, still flushes over red as a cherry and she can't help but giggle.

 _Geez, how long has it been since I last laughed?_ , she wonders. "You like her, don't you? I can hear it in your voice when you say her name," Ryu teases him.

Donnie's expression drops with his eyes and he turns back to the computer, shoulders slumped. She raises her eyebrows in question as he sighs heavily, "I do. A lot. But Raph says I don't have a chance with her."

She rolls her eyes. _Of course the angry one would say something like that. Betcha he has no consideration for anybody but himself._

"Listen," she says, going to his side and patting the back of his shell, "Don't listen to that guy. Just be yourself and it'll all work out." In the back of her mind, she's surprised by the feel of his shell; even for a turtle shell it feels as if it could take a bullet with no problem. She briefly wonders just how strong these turtles really are. She'd seen them jump higher than the average human and run at amazing speeds, but nothing that would point to them having super-human strength.

He chuckles lightly again, smiling that gap-toothed grin of his, "Thanks."

She smiles back, surprised at how genuine the smile feels, and then watches him punch in a few buttons on the computer. Up on the display screen, the video feeds show all the identical doors in the hallways opening up in union.

"Well, now I just got to go find him," Donnie states, his voice re-energized. "You comin'?"

"Uh…" She scratches the back of her head in thought, "You go on ahead. I want to take another look around this bunker and see if there's anything else I need. What is this place exactly?"

"A detention center," He responds.

"A what?" She gasps. Her thoughts drift back to that glowing red eyes she'd seen back in one of the dark rooms and then she glances up at the display screens again. _Uh-oh._

"What's up?" Donnie asks. She shakes her head and urges him out the automatic door that slides open at their approach.

"Nothing, nothing. Just…uh…be careful getting out, okay?"

"Sure."

She takes off then, racing down the hall and turning the corner. A few more halls later, she locates another room similar to the computer room only this one only has one screen flat against the back wall with a digital layout of the facility. Each room is marked with a small, foreign symbol in the bottom corners of each room, all the doors blinking red to signal that they're open, but only two of the rooms have anything in them.

One room reads Kirby O'Neal while the other is in those same foreign symbols, but this one is marked in red along with the door.

"Well, that doesn't look good," she notes, tapping the screen trying to get more information, "Whatever's in that room must not be a big hit with these Kraang guys."

Outside, there's a loud explosion and an ear-piercing roar like nothing she's ever heard, causing her to jump and spin towards the door in alarm.

"Whatever… **was** in that room," she corrects. Reaching into her pouch, she pulls out her two spheres, one a regular rock and the other made of slick silver metal, and chooses to stick with the metal one. Pausing at the door, she glancing both ways down the hall to make sure it's clear before jogging off back the way she had come. She's just turning the corner when-.

"Agh!" Something black, huge, and heavy knocks into her stomach and sends her flying backwards into the wall, knocking the stolen tech from her left hand. Pain shoots through her with a sharp flash before she falls to her knees on the floor. "Ugh…ow…what the heck was that?"

She lifts her heavy, pounding head just in time to see a huge armored lizard-thing take off down the hall away from her and disappear around the corner.

"Great, now we got giant lizards," she groans painfully. "What next?" As she climbs to her feet, she scans around for the fallen tech she's lost only to find it smashed to pieces, ruined. Anger wells up in her stomach, something that rarely happens to her, and her eyes narrow into a glare. "Perfect."

She picks up what remains of the tech and glowers down the hall where the monster had taken off to. Now it's war.

* * *

"Anyone got any bright ideas?" Donnie yells as they all back towards the wall, keeping themselves between the Neutralizer and Mr. O'Neal.

"Yeah, how about from now on, no one runs off on their own to play hero," Raph snaps. Donnie glares at him.

"Donnie, get Mr. O'Neal out of here. We'll take care of the Neutralizer," Leo instructs, raising his katana.

"I still can't believe you named something without me," Mickey grumbles.

"Would you drop that already?!" Donnie snaps. Turning to Kirby O'Neal he says, "Follow me."

He's about to lead him towards the door but a voice growls out towards them from the other side of the room.

"HEY! Overgrown gecko!"

The Neutralizer looks back over his shoulder, swinging his tail angrily. Something comes flying through the air at him and slams into the side of his face before landing and sliding across the floor towards the turtles. They all stare at the mangled mess of metal in confusion.

"You see that?" The voice demands heatedly.

The Neutralizer shifts his gaze at the broken tech on the floor that had hit him and then back at whoever stands behind him. The turtles lean sideways to see around him.

"That's right," Ryu snarls, her amber gaze full of fire, "That's my tech you broke. I've been lookin' for one of those for the last three days and now you've set me back a **week** in my plans. Congratulations, slimy. You've officially pissed me off."

Her arm becomes a blur as she swings out her whip and it snaps across the Neutralizer's face, cutting a deep gash into his black skin. He hisses at her, grabbing the side of his face.

"And just so you know," she continues, "That's not exactly easy to do." She attacks again, this time making her whip wrap his thick neck and then giving the rope a firm tug to drop the beast to the ground. He hits the floor heavily, making the building shake.

"Wow," Mikey grins, "She's pretty good."

"We need to help her," Leo says, readying his blades.

"Why?" Raph argues, "She's not on our side." He glares at the girl pulling tension into her whip as the Neutralizer begins to struggle against the binds on his neck. He doesn't trust her at all. She up and appears out of nowhere, always getting in their way when they're trying to fight the Kraang, and all she does to help is to steal something from the alien drones and then leave. She's utterly useless.

"We don't know that," Leo responds. "We'll ask master Splinter about her later. Right now we need to help her."

"I agree. I talked to her below and she doesn't seem like a bad person," Donnie agrees.

"That's because you'll believe anything that comes from a pretty girl, Donnie," Raph rolls his eyes.

They turn to stare at him with blank expressions.

"What?"

Mikey laughs, "Haha, Raph thinks she's pretty."

"What? No I don't!" The turtle growls. "I think she's evil."

"Based off what information exactly?" Donnie grins.

"My gut," Raph snaps, getting into his brother's face, daring him to argue.

"Well, I'm going to help her. You guys can help or not. It's your choice," Leo races forward to attack the Neutralizer that has gotten to his feet but has to dodge at the last second as the lizard swings at him.

Ryu struggles to keep her hold on her whip, wrapping it around her arm to shorten the length and force the Neutralizer back on his knees, but the monster roars and rips himself free of the cord. She's stumbles back but keeps her footing, glaring up at him. Leo attacks the Neutralizer next, flipping over him and swinging his katana at his arm before landing beside her.

"You got a plan?" He asks her.

She looks to her right, spotting two car doors that had been removed from their rides to be repaired individually. Sadly, they won't be able to be repaired once she's through with them. Going over to the work bench, she slams her fists down on the metal doors, forging her power through them and they bend to her will, melding around her hands as she commands until they form spikes over her fists.

"Yeah, I got one," Ryu answers him as she rejoins him at his side, "Win."

Leo takes a fleeting look at the doors-turned-deadly-weapons on her hands warily and then takes his stance again, "Good plan."

Ryu takes off, racing at the Neutralizer, all the while dragging the tips of the metal spiked blades across the cement floors to sharpen them. A trail of sparks is left behind in her wake until she leaps up and brings them down at the lizard's head. He barely dodges in time, the sharpened tips slicing just through the top layer of the skin of his chest. Leo joins the attack followed close behind by Donnie who slams his bow staff into the Neutralizer's armored arm and with all of them battering the beast at the same time, he's unable to do anything more than dodge.

Then with a powerful swing, the lizard veers his massive tail around and knocks all three of them away. The Neutralizer laughs his strange gargled laugh in victory and starts to saunter towards them. Ryu, Donnie, and Leo sit up, rubbing their heads.

"Anyone got a new plan?" Donnie whines in pain.

"Still the same as the last one," Ryu grunts, gingerly feeling the back of her head for any damage.

"Win?" Leo questions.

"Yep," she confirms.

They all look up as the Neutralizer gets closer, their expressions dropping a bit in deterrence.

"You sure?" Leo glances worriedly at her.

Ryu glares at him in disbelief, shooting back, "Well, I'm open to suggestions, oh wise and fearless leader!" Her outburst surprises even herself for a moment.

"Boo-ya-kasha!"

There's the rev of an engine and then there's just suddenly a car falling from above, landing smack on the Neutralizer's head. Silence follows the loud crash but then Leo and Donnie glance at each other before jumping to their feet in a rush.

Both them and Raph all charge towards the fallen vehicle screaming, "Mikey!"

Worry overwhelms Ryu and she too hurries to their sides only to find the younger Mikey crawling out of the car with a wide goofy smile. "Don't worry, I wore my seat belt," he assures them.

They all swamp him in hugs and Ryu can't help but smile at the kid. For the first time in such a long time, she had actually been worried about someone outside her small circle of friends. What's up with that?

* * *

"Well, miss, thanks for your help," Leo extends a hand to Ryu the second they're back on the street. His smile is open and unhidden, surprising her.

She's about to move to take his offered hand but then an image of their master Splinter flashes across her mind along with the warning from her guardians:

' _ **Focus on the mission, Ryu.**_ '

She drops her face back into her blank expression as she folds her hands behind her back. There's no way she can let herself get distracted. She can't involve these innocent kids in her work. They'd only get hurt. She owes that much to Splinter for helping her so briefly so long ago.

"Don't thank me. I only came for my tech…which I'm going to need to replace," She groans, remembering the mangled mess of machinery in the pouch on her belt. "Man, this sucks."

"Well, then…thank you for what you said before."

Ryu looks up at Donnie's voice and he smiles just as openly at her. Dropping her eyes, she settles for a simple shrug as she starts to turn away, "Whatever. You guys stay out of trouble, okay." Pausing mid-step, Ryu chews on her bottom lip thoughtfully for a second before spinning around quickly and back-handing Raph who has his back to the group.

"Ow, what the heck was that for?!" He howls at her.

Ryu's expression remains easily blank as she replies, "Be nice to your brothers."

They all break out into laughter as Ryu turns her back on them, listening to the happy noise of their obviously tight-knit family. Her smile falls.

She's forgotten what that's like.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	4. Chapter 3: 1-25 & 26 Showdown-Part 1

**New update. Finally bring in April just 'cause I hate her character so much in the series. I'd love to kill her off but I kind of need her in the future to shove Ryu off a cliff...not literally but you'll see when it happens.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 _ **3**_

 _ **1-25/26: "Showdown-Part 1"**_

"Order's up," the cook exclaims happily as he sets down her homemade ramen in front of her, "Enjoy."

"Thank you," Ryu answers, not bothering to smile since the black haired chef was obviously blind. Best not to waste energy right?

"You sound distracted, miss," He inquires with a solid statement.

Ryu raises her eyes, wide in surprise. She'd heard that blind, deaf, or mute people had a special type of _sense_ to know when something was wrong, but she didn't think it was this sharp. She'd made her voice sound upbeat when he had set her bowl down in front of her, she's sure of it, but still he had picked up on her under lying tone. She narrows her eyes in thought, _I wonder if he's really as blind as he appears…_

Through the short bangs of the black wig she wears to cover her own silver-white, Ryu sets her spoon back down and peers over the bar counter at him through the dark rimmed glasses she also sports, "I'm sorry, I've just had a long day at work. I apologize for bothering you."

The chef smiles warmly at her, wiping off a spoon with a drying towel, "Do not worry. Just try to smile through it. All will come out right."

Ryu's smile faulters, wavering for a brief flash of a moment, but then she corrects it. She bows in traditional fashion, a bit awkward to do on a bar stool, and answers, " _Arigatou gazaimasu, itamae._ I appreciate your wisdom."

"You speak Japanese quite well," he chuckles.

Ryu shrugs, savoring a mouthful of the great ramen. Swallowing, "I learned a little from the neighbors when I used to visit Tokyo."

He chuckles again as he turns back to the stove in the center of the island behind the bar. The door behind her shuts with a ring of the bell and on instinct she spreads her power down her back, traveling through her energy points, and through the wood of the stool legs into the earth deep under the shop's floor.

 _No bad intentions_ , the earth seems to sing to her, but the person doesn't feel quite right.

Almost as if they aren't quite…human-.

"Good evening!" A female voice cuts off her thoughts.

 _I know that voice_ , Ryu thinks, eyes narrowing as she stares down at her bowl. She ducks her head further, shifting the short black and purple hair of the wig forwards to cover her face. The stool a few seats down slides out and the person sits down.

"Ah, April-san," The chef greets happily, "So good to see you again. You here for your usual order?"

" _Hai,_ " The girl responds.

Ryu raises an eyebrow. _She can speak Japanese?_

"Coming right up," The chef tells her, turning back to his stove.

Silence fills the room and Ryu can sense the girl shift awkwardly on her stool. Wondering what could be disturbing the kid, Ryu tries not to just when April suddenly speaks up. "Um…I heard you speaking Japanese when I came in. You sound perfectly fluent in it for someone who only learned a little from your neighbors. How long did you live in Japan?"

Ryu blinks, setting her spoon down to pick up her chopsticks so that she can fish out a few noodles. She'd always liked a bit more liquid in her ramen than normal so it was a bit more like the soup she had as a kid, so she's glad the chef here was nice enough to make an order to her liking without any trouble for him. "I never lived there. I only visited a few times; not long enough to really call it home," She replies. _What else is new?_

"Well, it still sounds cool. I'd love to visit there one day," April smiles.

Ryu glances at the redhead through the veil of her hair and then pinches up a few more noodles with her chopsticks, "Then maybe you and Donnie can make a vacation out of it. I know he'd love it there."

April fumbles her own chopsticks, dropping them to the bar top with a clatter.

 _She really gets flustered easily_ , Ryu think, biting back a grin.

"You…?! You know…Donnie?" April stumbles with the words.

"Yep," Ryu answers back easily, taking another bite of ramen.

"Wait, for how long?"

"I got here a few weeks ago. I ran into him a few nights back while he was trying to rescue your dad from the…" Ryu pauses to glance warily at the chef's back, "Guys who had him.

"Oh," April leans on the bar top, "So you helped him. Thank you, then, for that."

"I didn't do anything. It was all Donnie," Ryu shrugs. Her ramen done, she lifts the bowl to drink up the rest of the broth before setting it down and pulling out her money from her pocket. She only ever carries around enough to pay for dinner and possibly a cab or bus if she's tired. "He's one heck of a guy," Ryu continues on leisurely, glancing up from her money covertly to catch the redhead's expression.

It doesn't change.

"Yeah," April agrees, "He's always there when I need him. He's a great friend. Well, all the turtles are. And they all seem to like you, well…"

Ryu finally does look over at the girl, making sure the wig doesn't pull too far away from her face, "Well?"

"Um…" April fiddles her fingers, "All of them except Raph. He's kind of wary of you."

Ryu scoffs loud and slides her money across the counter as the chef turns around, "Thank you, _itamae_. The meal was great."

The chef lifts up the money bill and fingers it for a second before smiling wider and bowing his head at her. Ryu smiles, amazed at the blind man's skill. "Have a good night, miss," He responds.

"I'll try," Ryu slides off her stool and heads for the door, listening to the bell ring as it shuts behind her. She's not five steps down the sidewalk when April comes running up behind her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Ryu blinks, "Upset me? What did you say to do that?"

"That bit about Raph. He's a hot head, but he really cares about his brothers. I think he just doesn't trust you because he doesn't know you yet like Mikey and Donnie do."

Ryu slams to a halt mid-step and spins on her fast, "And he shouldn't trust me. I'm not a friend. I only gave Donnie some advice and Mikey is just too trusting for his own good. That's all."

April looks a bit taken aback by her sharp word, but Ryu isn't about to take them back. She doesn't need any distractions from this city. She's not here to make friends. She's just here to finish her mission and then head back on her search. Nothing more, though, hopefully a lot less.

"So, I guess inviting you to come hang out with us back at the lair would be-."

"A bad idea," Ryu finishes for her, swallowing her sharp tone so that she doesn't scare the kid. "Splinter wouldn't exactly welcome me."

"Huh?"

She suddenly regrets her words, but it's too late to take them back now. Instead she tries to walk away and drop the conversation.

"Hey, hold on!"

Ryu mauls back a sigh of frustration, _Should've kept my mouth shut._

"What did you-?"

"Look," Ryu stops her softly, "I really can't get into this right now. I don't care if Splinter or any of them know that I'm here. Tell them I said hey, tell them you saw me at the noodle shop, it's not my problem. But I have work to do and distraction is really the last thing I need on my plate right now." Ryu pulls up the hood of her hoodie and smiles at the redhead, "I'm sorry."

"It's…okay. I guess we'll see you around."

Ryu pauses in her step again, staring down at the sidewalk for a long moment. When she finally looks up, her face has been set back up into that practiced smile, "I'll see you, but you won't see me."

* * *

Her computer in going crazy when she reaches her base, kicking her feet into high gear as she flies across the room, all but throwing herself into her roll around chair.

A new message, but this one isn't from her guardians. It's coming through the communication tech she'd stolen from another facility two nights ago to replace the one that had been broken by the freaky, black gecko. Around mid-day yesterday, Ryu had come to realize that, if the frequency was right, she could sometimes pick up transmissions coming out of the TCRI building, and now is one of those rare times.

The grumbled language coming through her speakers is completely foreign to her. Her fingers fly across her keyboard, punching in a few new commands to the rewritten program, and the language changes to English in a few aching seconds.

Her eyes widen in alarm as the words pass from alien to alien.

An invasion. Beginning tonight.

The Kraang will start their takeover of earth the second the people of this city settle down obliviously to sleep.

 _Alright_ , she thinks, _time to crush some Kraang_.

* * *

High above the city, using the clouds as cover, Ryu rides atop a floating mound of rock she'd ripped up from the alley way across the street; it would successfully pass as a sink hole if anyone caught glimpse of it. That's not what worries her now though. It's the clouds.

The clouds swirling around her high up at this altitude are thick, spiraling down to circle over the top of the towering TCRI building. _Might as well have a neon sign saying you're aliens hell-bent on taking over the world_ , Ryu rolls her eyes.

She hovers in towards the top of the building and leaps off, freefalling through the dark night air for a breathless moment before she rolls into a flip to keep her feet from making noise on the Kraang metal roof.

 _Sure wish I knew what metal alloy this stuff is_ , she wonders as she slips over the arched surface quietly as a shadow. Stealth has always been her best ability, aside from her powers, but with the alien metal around her it's hard for her to go full stealth.

She'd just have to trust the shadows, something Splinter had told her when she had met him years ago in this very city. She comes to a stop at the edge and gazes down at two Kraang bots. She silences a groan of frustration long enough to hear one bot say something to the other before shifting her wrist and grabbing a dart that shoots out from her hidden wristband.

She forges her power into it and the iron moans soundlessly as it changes shape to her will. But a new voice stops her, making her jump in surprise, and she and the two Kraang bots glance over at the corner of the ledge they stand on below her.

 _What the heck?_

Mikey and all his orange mask glory, waves his hands and sticks his tongue out at the Kraang bots. They glance at each other.

Mikey suddenly loses his balance and falls off the edge into the darkness!

Ryu hisses in panic, slipping off the top of the arched roof and landing down behind the two Kraang. She drops them quickly without a sound and tosses them off the edge before rushing to the edge of the corner. A flash of movement catches her eye from her left and Ryu swings her arm up to block the bow staff coming down on her head.

"Ah!"

"Cheese and sprinkles, Donnie!" Ryu gasps, heart hammering in her chest, "Just how many times are you going to try to kill me?!"

"Sorry!" He exclaims before she shushes him and reaches down to help Mikey up who is hanging on the side of the building just below by claws. "What are you doing here?"

Ryu and Donnie heave Mikey up with a grunt just as Leo and Raph come up behind them. "Same as you," She answers, "I'm sure."

"That would be convincing if we were here to steal instead of saving the world," Raph growls crossing his arms.

Ryu glares back at his green eyes behind the red mask, "Well that's great then 'cause I'm here to stop the invasion too, so it looks like it's more convincing than you thought."

Leo steps up to stop their argument, "Stop it, Raph. We're here to do a job and I think that since Ryu is here to do the same that we should team up."

"WHAT?" Raph explodes.

Ryu is about to agree but covers her ears with another glare, "Geez, lower you volume! You want to alert the whole city that we're up here?"

"Watch it-!"

"Raph!" Leo cuts him off. "Ryu, will you help us?"

"Yeah, this is going to be so cool!" Mikey exclaims excitedly, grabbing Ryu's arm and pulling her along the ledge to the opposite corner.

When they finally stop, looking out over the drop to the glass roof that separates the two spike towers, Ryu mumbles back to Leo over her shoulder, "Guess I really don't have a choice."

"Good," Leo and the rest of the turtles line up and pull out some make-shift grappling guns which they fire over to the other spike tower. "Ready to go?" He asks her, holding out his hand.

Ryu blinks down at his offered hand in confusion, _Does he expect me to slide across with him? No way._ She pulls off her whip from her hip and wraps it over his line with a smile before stepping off the ledge and letting gravity take her.

* * *

Hidden away in the darkness surrounding the rafters above, the groups gazes down at the portal room below as Kraang bots wielding laser guns and one giant rock monster like the one before patrol the area around it. Ryu leans a bit forward to eye the strange gun in Leo's hands. Would it be able to shut down the portal as Donnie had explained?

 _Is that thing really strong enough?_ , she wonders.

"That's a lot of Kraang droids down there," Mikey mutters under his breath.

"It doesn't matter," Leo replies as he fires up the gun, "We'll have the portal destroyed and be out of here before they even know we were here."

"Hope you're right," She says unconvinced. Her eyes count the Kraang bots quickly; too many for her taste, but what are you going to do? It's not like she can control situations at her will. No matter how nice that would be.

"Ready?" Leo aims the gun, the weapon powering up in a hum that starts of low but gets louder with each second. Ryu holds her breath, the moment lasting way too long. He fires.

 _Take it out, take it out, take it out!_ Ryu bites her lower lip, leaning forward with the others in anticipation as the shot hits the portal's base head on.

A shimmering around the edges of the portal absorbs the shot before whipping out of view again. Their jaws drop in disbelief.

"A force field!" Leo gaps, turning to Donnie who crouches between him and Ryu. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

Donnie grins, "Oh, because I wanted us to fail." But then his expression flips like a pancake and he snaps angrily, "Obviously I didn't know!"

Ryu slaps her hand down over his mouth to block his outburst, but she comes too late. The Kraang below halt, spinning towards them and aiming their guns up into the rafters. She hurls a frown at Donnie.

"Fowwy," He apologizes behind her hand.

"Ugh," Ryu stands up, reaching into her pouch to draw out the rock and silver spheres, surging her power through them until they stretch out and twist around each other into a yard-length rod. "I'll take rocky."

Nimbly, she takes off across the rafters, dodging the open fire of lasers aimed at her, before flipping out and dropping to the floor below behind the rock giant. Snapping out her whip, she wraps the tip around the forged rod of her making, then snaps it out with a thrust of her arm. The rod strikes the back of the giant's head, spraying sparks, and the monster's head spins around separately from its body.

 _Yeah, that's not creepy at all_ , she swallows. "Come on, rocky!" Ryu shouts, "Come get me!"

The gaint spins and attacks, spitting out boiling hot magma from his mouth. She rolls, flipping across the floor to avoid the blazing hot fountain just as Leo lands beside her.

"He spits lava?!" She cries.

"Yeah, watch out for that," He responds with a sheepish grin.

"And you couldn't tell me that sooner…why?!"

Leo clears his throat, but instead calls out to his team, "Mikey, Raph, keep those Kraang off Donnie. We need him to shut down the barrier or we can't take down this portal."

"Well, if that's the case, I should give him my phone. It's got a program that will eat through the encryption codes like a virus and-."

"Ugh, not another one!" Raph barks as he races by to take out three Kraang bots.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ryu barks back.

"Just get him the phone and get back. We've got to take out Rocky or we won't be able to get anywhere near the portal to destroy it," Leo orders.

"On it," Ryu nods, taking off towards Donnie who is crouched down next to a computer on the floor circling the lower level of the portal floor. Between her are dozens of Kraang, but one by one, Mikey and Raph are taking them down. Raph is dealing with a group of four of them in her line of travel, leaving her no room to get by without having to deal with Kraang.

She leaps up, landing for a second on the back of Raph's shell, and then in front of him long enough to swing out her whip and knock the bots down with the rod still attached to the end.

"Hey!" He argues.

"Sorry," She grins back over her shoulder, "You were taking too long." Leaving him behind to scowl, Ryu races up the steps and skids to a stop behind Donnie who is busy fumbling around on the computer. "Here, use this to boost the power. I've got a program on here that'll break the encryption codes and-."

Lasers fly by over their heads and they duck down in a panic, but something takes out two of the Kraang approaching them. "Nerd talk later!" Raph demands.

"Guys," Mikey calls from across the room, "I think the portal's opening!"

Ryu spins around in a flash and sure enough the portal is starting to glow. She and Raph exchange a panicked look before lasers break up their dread. They stand back to back and face the Kraang coming at them. "Donnie, I know it's Raph's job to be the impatient one,"

"Hey!" The red turtle in question bites as he knocks off a Kraang head.

"But we really need that barrier down," She finishes, running off to help Leo again, taking out two Kraang surrounding Mikey in her wake. Leo fires the gun as she approaches, blowing off a leg of the giant. She spots the giant taking in a breath, readying to spit out more lava, and she pulls the rod out of the end of her whip. Kicking off the wall, Ryu tosses the forged rod into the air and kicks it straight at the giant's head where it gorges right into its mouth and out the back of its head.

The monster coughs, dropping to its last knee. As it starts to topple over, Leo fires the gun and the giant falls to pieces, going still on the floor. Ryu stops next to him, both of them breathing hard, and they glance at each other.

"That was fun," Leo grins, getting him a look of 'are-you-nuts' from Ryu. A shifting, grainy sound peeks their interest and they turn back to the giant just as Mikey and Raph step up behind them. The rock giant is pulling himself back together. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Donnie!" Ryu cries.

"I got it!" The purple turtle calls back, jumping out of his crouch across the room and throwing his hands into the air with a cheer. "Barrier down!"

The portal's barrier drops…

Only to have it power up to full creepy purple-pink glow-on and shoot a beam into the sky above. They all duck as more Kraang bots show up and crouch at the base of the portal. Ryu ducks down in a flash, eluding the lasers that zoom by over her head and heating the top of her scalp up with their heat, while Leo is yelling at the gun in his hands.

"Come on, come on, come on!" He urges. The gun finishes powering up and he aims it at the portal. "It's over!"

 _Finally!_ , Ryu sighs. He pulls the trigger and the gun puffs out smoke like an old hound dog. They all stare at in in horror. "Are you kidding me?!" She screams.

"Ah! What are we gonna do now?!" Mikey demands, grabbing the sides of his face and shaking his head. "We're all gonna die! They're gonna cut open our shells and turn us into sushi!"

Ryu raises an eye brow at him, "Mikey, sushi is fish. Not turtle. And on top of all that, I don't think Kraang eat either one of those anyway, so I think you're safe."

"Unless they like turtle kabobs," Raph adds with a cruel joke.

Mikey starts panicking again and Ryu glares at the red turtle, "You're really not helping."

"Donnie, what would happen if I ruptured the power cell?" Leo calls over the scream of the lasers, pointing at a small glass cylinder nearby with a strange looking crystal fragment inside it.

Donnie raises a finger and states matter-of-factly, "It would blow up the whole room, taking us with it."

"I'll take it," Leo jumps up and races off to attack a few of the closest Kraang bots, "All of you get out now!"

"What?!" Donnie argues.

Ryu stands up and turns to them, "Listen to him and go. We'll be right behind you." Lasers start firing at them again, forcing Ryu to cut off her words and head after Leo. He's surrounded by Kraang bots, unable to fire the gun on the power cell thing, so she strikes out with her whip, jerking the bots away from him and fighting off the rest with the forged rod she calls back to her hands while he gets the gun ready. She's too caught up in the fight to make sure the others have gotten out, but she's also too worried about what Donnie had said:

" _It would blow up the whole room, taking us with it_."

 _Is that 'power cell' really that strong?_ , Ryu wonders as she strikes off another Kraang head. _Wonder if I should be looking for one for me…_

"Ryu, you need to leave!" Leo orders.

"No way," She shoots back, snapping her whip forward and knocking a Kraang off balance. "You may be the leader, but you're not my leader. I just choose to listen to you when I want to and right now I don't want to."

Leo blinks at her.

"Are you gonna shoot or not?!" Ryu points at the gun, humming in his hands.

"Right," He aims it at the power cell and Ryu readies herself for the 'massive' explosion that Donnie had promised. The gun fires, hitting the power cell dead on, and the detonation happens almost instantly, giving Ryu almost no time to grab Leo by the top of his shell and hurling them both out of the window.

It breaks around them, shattering easily into splinters that prick her skin like needles, and then the cold fingers of gravity take hold of them. Ryu is met with the stark realization that she had cast off the mound of rock she had first used to get to the building, assigning her with nothing to use to catch them now.

She throws her hand out towards the street so far below, yet advancing towards them at a terrifying speed now, and sends her power flying out beyond her as fast as she can. Just faintly, she picks up the lovely, familiar song of the living earth far below and she calls it up to her, pulling her arm sharply towards her chest. Even this far up, she can hear the ear splitting _**crack**_ as the earth breaks loose.

They hit it fast, but Ryu slows it down just enough to where it wouldn't be a bone-breaking impact; doesn't mean they won't have bruises in the morning. The mound of solid earth pauses in midair, hovering silently as if waiting for her command, and Ryu rolls over onto her back with a groan. Leo matches her moan as he sits up with her and rubs his head.

"That's gonna be sore in the morning," Ryu grumbles and helps him to his feet. "You good?"

"Yeah, you saved my life. Thanks," Leo smiles.

Ryu drops his arm as if it burns her and steps away from him as far as she the rock will allow her and turns away, "Forget it."

"You don't take compliments well, do you?" He chuckles. She doesn't have time to answer as Raph, Mikey, and Donnie come flying up with homemade wings strapped onto their backs. Her jaw drops in disbelief.

 _Flying turtles…what next?_

"Whoo hoo!" Mikey cheers, doing a loop in the sky as they fly. "That was awesome! Turtles were born to fly!"

Ryu smiles despite herself at Mikey's crazy randomness, wishing that there had been more of this back at the sanctuary.

"Ya see," Mikey starts again, "That wasn't so hard."

Something, like the sound of an electrified laser, strikes her ears and Ryu turns around on the rock, eyes widening in dismay.

"Yeah, we did good. Great work tonight, guys," Leo commends his team from the rock Ryu hovers along through the air to match the speed of the flying turtles. "We got rid of the portal and stopped an alien invasion. I'd say that's pretty good for a nights work. I think we all need to celebrate back at the lair. Pizza's on me!"

They all cheer, all except Ryu, who reaches out with a slack jaw and taps Leo's shoulder. "You may want to hold off on that party…"

They all turn on a dime, finding themselves face to face with a huge Kraang ship sporting a eye-like light show that stares down at them. The portal they thought they had destroyed had already spit out its delivery package before it went up in smoke. Now they're facing the Kraang technadrome.

The end of the world begins.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	5. Chapter 4: 1-25 & 26 Showdown-Part 2

**Finally finished with the first season, now onto the second one. I'm mushing season 1 and 2 up into the first part, so I'm hoping part two will start with season 3. We'll see. Let me know what you think.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 _ **4**_

 _ **1-25/26: "Showdown-Part 2"**_

"So, uh….what's….plan B….again?" Ryu asks, leaning over towards Leo to speak over the roar of the technadrone.

"I….didn't think that far ahead."

Her expression drops with an eye roll, "Some leader you are."

"We can still take it down," Raph interrupts, "Maybe we'll get lucky and it won't have weapons."

As if the ship could hear him, it turns one of its antenna looking devices and fires a bolt of pink-purple laser power at them, demolishing the earth holding Ryu and Leo in the air and releasing them to the mercy of gravity once more.

"Agh!" Leo screams along with Ryu, their cries echoing through the night around them. The wind whips at them violently, roaring angrily in their ears as it whirls by. She curls up into a ball, an instinctual reaction her body does when preparing for impact, but something wraps around her waist and she's halted in midair once more. Looking over her shoulder, she meets Raph's green eyes and she sucks in a quick breath. She'd been hugged by a guy before, two in fact. One was when she was eleven and had nearly fallen off a cliff when one of her fellow students caught her around her waist. Then again when she was thirteen after her _turning_ while she was sparing with another guy and he had flipped her over by her waist.

But this is different.

"What are you doing?!" She gaps.

"Did you want to fall to your death?" He snaps.

Popping back to her senses frantically, she looks for Leo's falling form below her, but finds nothing. "I got him!"

Donnie flies over to cruise beside Raph with Leo caught safely in his hands. She sighs, "You guys are going to make me have a heart attack at a young age."

"Guys, we're still being shot at!" Mikey hollers. Raph veers to the side sharply as another laser comes down on them. "What are we gonna do?!"

Leo starts ranting, Donnie adding in his two cents worth, while Ryu starts swinging her eyes around for something she can use; anything that can help. _Got to take out that gun, got to take out that gun_ , she chants.

Another laser shoots, forcing the turtles to dodge, bobbing and weaving through the air, and Ryu covers her mouth as her head starts to spin, "I wasn't made to fly. I'm an earth dweller; if I was meant to fly I would've been given wings!"

"Don't you mean 'born with'?" Raph grumbles behind her head. That's when she gets an idea.

"You wouldn't understand," Ryu rolls her eyes, "Put me on your back."

"What?"

"Hurry up," Ryu implores. Raph quickly does a barrel roll, tossing Ryu up into the air for a split second so that she lands on his back, the hard, hand-made rocket pack slamming into her chest. Her fingers quickly grab the cool metal bars that extend over his shoulders to form handle bars to keep herself from flying off to her death. Below them, the buildings speed by as they fly at top speed to escape the technadrome. Dodging billboard sighs and rooftop water tanks as they go, Ryu spots something shiny up ahead of them; something she has plenty of time to grab if she times it right.

Reaching out her arm in front of her, Ryu focuses her power on the single target, and hurls it out in front of her. She's never had to throw her power out towards a target going this fast before but thankfully she's met with the familiar song of the metal and it reaches back out to her.

"What are you doing?" Raph calls back to her.

With a jerk, she pulls up the metal and the top of the satellite dish soars up into her awaiting palm as they zip by, "Uh…slingshot?"

"What?"

Ryu steadies herself with one hand and carefully maneuvers herself on her back so that she can face the technadrome behind them. She holds her hands out, palm facing palm, and the satellite dish begins to spin and spin until it rotates so fast that it begins to sing. Ever so slightly she then gradually brings her palms together and the satellite flattens out on command.

"Plan on playing Frisbee or something?" Leo calls over to her. Ryu just grins at him.

Reaching for her power, a force that resides just under her skin like an invisible armor, she pushes it out of her hand and focuses it between her thumb and pointer finger. Unseen by anyone, she connect the thin band of power to the flat disk and pulls it back as if her right hand is in fact a sling shot.

She takes a second to aim at the technadrome's gun and then lets the disk fly. It bounces off the gun harmlessly and the ship fires another laser in return.

"WHAT?!" Ryu cries.

The laser explodes right next to the group, throwing them all off balance in the air and sending them all tumbling dangerously towards the ground.

* * *

"Ow…" Ryu groans as she flitters her eyes open. It's dark. Too dark. _What, did they kill the sun already?_ , she wonders. Sitting up, every segment in her backbone popping in response, her head hits metal. "Ow!" Her hand flies to her skull, now pulsing from the new hit, and rubs the back of her neck with the other. "Cheese andsprinkles, why does it feel like I landed on a rock?"

One would think that landing on a rock wouldn't bother her as much, what with her ability being grounded in the earth and all, but it's not as pleasant as you would think. She looks back over her shoulder just as she's pushing open the metal lid above her. Fresh air swirls in and washes away the stink swamping the small dark area.

Something moans and her eyes widen – she's landed on Raph. "Oh, that's why," Ryu rolls her eyes and moves to not only lift the lid further, but also to get some space away from the turtle. Knowing him, he's going to start throwing a fit. "Well, I wasn't planning on taking two baths in one day, but okay-YIPE!"

Raph reaches forward and pulls her backward. The lid shuts with a metallic bang, the sound ringing in their ears.

"What the heck is your problem?" She hisses.

"Shut up!" Raph orders, his green eyes slightly glowing in the shaft of moonlight still finding its way in through the two lids. Above them, Ryu can hear the technadrome zoom by slowly with a low hum. They wait, breathing quietly into the air. For some reason, her skin is starting to prickle.

 _Must be the tight space_ , she thinks, _I've always been a little bit wary of tight corners._ But then as she focuses on it, she notices that it's just on her right arm - originating from his hand resting against her elbow where he had reached around her to pull her out of view of the technadrome. Ryu glances out of the corner of her eye, studying his expression.

He may be harsh and rude, but he's not too bad of a ninja.

Ryu blinks and shakes her head, reaching up to lift the lid a smidge. More moonlight spills in and they peek out of the gap together. Nothing moves; the alley quiet.

Sharing a cautious look, they lift the lid farther and stand up, "'Bout time it left."

Ryu rolls her eyes to the sky above, "I wouldn't say something that big can just up and leave in a snap, Raph. Try 'just out of sight for now'."

He growls, opening his mouth to spit out something mean no doubt, but the other turtles come racing up from the other way and cut him off, "Are you guys okay?"

"Despite landing on a rock? Sure."

"I'm not a rock," Raph glares up at her as he lands on the ground next to Leo.

"Sure are hard-headed enough to be," She replies calmly, sitting on the edge of the opening to the dumpster so that she can pick out a few bits of trash from her bangs. Surprising her, Raph reaches up and helps her down, lifting her easily by her middle and setting her down between him and Leo. She blinks blankly at him, completely confused. _His mood swings are giving me a whip lash_ , Ryu mentally shakes herself.

"We need to regroup," Leo states, "Let's head back to the lair and talk to Splinter."

Just hearing Splinter's name jerks her back to reality and she steps away from them, folding her hands behind her back, "Okay, then I'll meet back up with you guys later."

"You're not going to come?" Leo asks.

Ryu's face turns blank again, "No, I'm going to stay here and see if that thing has any weak spots in it. See ya later." She leaves before any of them can respond and turns out into the open street beyond. When she finally finds her way back to the roof tops, she discovers herself stopping. She pauses in the shadows of a water tank and props her hand against it.

 _What the heck is wrong with me all of a sudden?_ Her heart is beating a bit quicker in her chest, her hands slightly sweaty. She gazes down at her palms in confusion. This hadn't started to happen until Raph had helped her down from the dumpster, when he had touched her arm. She shakes her head clear, drops her hands to her sides in frustration, and refocuses on the technadrome a few streets away. _There's no time for this nonsense_ , she thinks as she glares at the alien craft, _I've got a mission to do._

* * *

"Raph's got a girlfriend! Raph's got a girlfriend!" Mikey chants.

Leo snickers behind his hand and Donnie chuckles, "Wow, I never thought it would happen."

"Especially to him," Leo adds.

"Raph's got a girlfriend! Raph's got a girlfriend!" Mikey keeps chanting.

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!" Raph smacks Mikey so hard that the smaller turtle goes flailing into the river of dirty water they walk alongside of. Raph storms off ahead of them angrily, ready to hit the first thing that moves.

"Raph, come on. We were just joking," Leo calls after him, but his hot headed brother has already vanished around the corner. He glances worriedly at Donnie and Mikey, "I guess we shouldn't have gone that far."

"He does all the time with me about April and with you about Karai. I say he got what he deserved," Donnie argues with a shrug.

"Yeah, and with me!" Mikey agrees, crossing his arms.

Leo and Donnie throw him a look.

"What?"

"You don't have a girl, Mikey," Leo responds.

"Do I?" Mikey challenges back.

"No," Leo and Donnie answer in union, glaring at him.

"Right," Mikey shrinks back, lowering his eyes as he fiddles his fingers.

Donnie and Leo sigh and shake their heads. "Well…" Leo starts, "It's not like they're really girlfriends anyway."

"Yeah," Donnie sighs in defeat as he stares off into his memories, "Guess we should go apologize to Raph."

They start walking again, going right past the corner that Raph had stormed down, and Leo shrugs, "I don't see why. We were just joking and besides. It's not like he actually likes her anyway."

As their voices trail off on their way back to the lair, Raph steps out of the shadows of the tunnel he had hidden in. He hangs his head, staring down at his hand. _Yeah_ , he thinks, _I don't actually like her. Why would I? She's a girl. She's a stranger. She's nothing but trouble. And Splinter had told us that we had to stay away from her. He hadn't said more, but that's all I need._

Raph opens and closes his hand over and over again, studying the way it moves and the way the wraps around his knuckles shift over his green flesh. The tips of his three fingers are still warm, the feeling of her skin lingering on his. It was the first time he'd ever touched a girl when he hadn't been focused on fighting them. All except April while they'd trained, but he doesn't see her in any special way other than a friend. That, and he knows how his brother feels about her.

"Get it together, Raph. You're losing your mind," he grumbles to himself. He steps out into the tunnel and follows after his brothers a bit slower, the sensation of her skin still haunting his fingertips.

* * *

"Agh!" Ryu yells into the dark night. She'd slung yet another stolen satellite dish, this one two times bigger than the last, at the ships guns. Nothing. It springs off the alien metal like a grain of sand off a brick wall. "This is buggin' the crap out of me! Why can't these aliens just use our metal and make this a bit easier for me?"

Screams from a street over catch her attention and she skips to the other side of the roof. People are racing away down the street away from hovering pods that are snatching up humans left and right in the blink of an eye.

"Holy crap," Ryu breathes. A little girl cries out as her mother is snatched up into a pod just below Ryu's position and she flinches in surprise. Her feet shuffle her to the corner to her right and sure enough a small girl with brown hair is hunkered down beside a few tin trash cans. Ryu drops down onto the fire escape with a clang and swings her way down to the ground of the alleyway just as a floating pod hovers around the corner.

The little girl screams as the pods approaches her, burying her head into her knees and covering her ears with her hands. Ryu slams her foot into the ground, feeling her power respond to the earth's song that rings out, and a wall of solid rock shoots up out of the ground in front of the girl. The pod is knocked away, flipping around and flying back up into the sky.

Ryu drops down to her knees next to the small child and touches her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

The little girl looks up with a tear stained face and nods shakily. Ryu picks her up into her arms and sneaks a peek into the open street beyond. Pods are whizzing by as Kraang bots are strolling along with their laser guns. She squats down behind a flipped car to avoid being spotted by a few Kraang bots passing by and pats the child's head comfortingly.

"Shhh…" Ryu whispers to the sobbing child, "It's okay. It's okay." Gazing down at the child, she's suddenly looking down at herself as a child. Her memories start stinging through her brain and she flinches internally, forcing them back. _Stay focused, Ryu. Stay frosty._

A heavy hand lands on her shoulder and Ryu jerks her head up. Leo stands behind her.

 _How the heck didn't I sense him?!_ , she thinks. _Must've been the memories. I've got to keep my mind blank._

Ryu goes to the nearest door she can find and knocks on it. A scared stiff man opens the door a crack and glances out. "I need you to let the girl hide here, please. Her mother just got taken. Please, take her in."

The elderly man glances warily up at the sky before nodding and takes the girl from her, shutting the door tightly behind them. With the door firmly in place against the invasion, Ryu ducks back down behind the overturned car and the turtles join her.

"So how are we going to destroy that ship?" She asks.

"We're not. We're going in," Leo explains.

"How? Have you not seen all the Kraang walking around like a terrible version of a zombie apocalypse?"

Leo glances out at the bot infested street around a single pod, "I count eight bots."

"I'm sorry, how many did you say?" Raph asks from behind them.

"Eight," Leo repeats, "If we split up and take them out in pairs-."

"Their guns will be on us in seconds," Donnie cuts in.

"Why don't we just dress up as a Kraang bot and sneak in?" Mikey offers.

Leo and Donnie glance back at him with a glare. Ryu doesn't understand why, she thinks it's a good idea. It actually might work if they could just get ahold of one of the Kraang…but then again, who would dress up as one? The turtles are a bit too…bulky to fit into one of those suits and she's too short. _Hmm…maybe not such a good idea_.

There's a loud crash and they all peek out over the top of the overturned car. Raph is destroying one last Kraang, propping one leg up on the edge of the pod from the inside.

"Or…that," Leo shrugs. They all climb into the pod and Donnie closes the lid, signaling for the pod to lift into the sky. Within minutes they are through a door on the technadrome and floating down a long tunnel of solid Kraang metal.

"Great, it just has to be lined full of stuff I can't use," Ryu mumbles to herself.

"I've been wondering about that," Donnie overhears her. Ryu raises an eyebrow at him in question, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you have control over metal."

Ryu smiles, "Earth and it's not really control. It's more like persuasion."

"That's got to be awesome. You could…grow your own treehouse!" Mikey grins.

"When I say earth, I mean more centered on minerals not wood."

Mikey's face turns into a question mark and he glances at Donnie.

"Minerals," Donnie explains slowly. Mikey's expression doesn't change. "Rocks," Donnie glares, dumbing down his explanation.

"Right on," Mikey grins. Ryu laughs and nudges Mikey's shoulder. If her life had taken a different turn, maybe she and Mikey could've been friends.

"So I figured you guys would be gone longer than you were. What changed?" Ryu inquires.

"April was taken," Donnie answers, hanging his head a bit.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's go," she stands up, ready to open the lid.

Leo does the same, "Okay, on three. One, two, three-eee-eee-eeeeeee!"

They all jump out, expecting to fall to the bottom of the tunnel, but instead go floating in the air, tumbling and flailing crazily. "What the heck?!" Ryu squeaks, waving her arms.

"It seems the Kraang found a way to generate anti-gravitons," Donnie observes

"Can you generate…anti…anti-gravitons?" Leo shoots back.

"You mean gravitons?" Donnie and Ryu question in union while Donnie finishes, "No."

Mikey grabs Ryu's hand and they somehow float their way into a nearby tunnel as another pod comes floating by along with a few Kraang brains inside their hover vehicles. Ryu is too busy to focus on what the turtles are whispering about, trying to figure out how to work the lack of gravity. When she tries to move one way, her body spins the other way.

 _Annoying, annoying, annoying! Why couldn't I have been given wind powers or something?_ , Ryu growls at herself.

A scream from somewhere far off makes them all stop and Donnie exclaims suddenly, "April!"

"Could you say that a little louder? I don't think the whole technadrome heard you," Raph complains. He turns around to find the whole opening to their tunnel hideaway filled up with Kraang brains staring at them and then turns back. "Nevermind, they did."

They all attack, Ryu pushing off of the floor and launching herself at the largest group of Kraang she can get to but they easily float out of her reach. She grinds her teeth in frustration as she runs into the opposite wall with no luck in her attack. "This is useless. I'm completely hopeless in here!"

"What else is new?" Raph smirks at her.

"Shut up!" Ryu shoots back with a growl. She kicks off the wall as a few Kraang fire lasers at her position, scarcely avoiding an injury. She bumps into Donnie by accident and they go tumbling into the opposite wall. "Sorry," She apologizes.

A sound shudders through the tunnel, making everyone halt. Something is powering up. Then a scream follows, piercing Ryu's ears. _That's April again!_ , Ryu thinks, shifting her eyes around the tunnel. Below Raph has placed his head against the floor, listening, and then starts trying to pry up a floor panel. _Finally something I can do._

Ryu grins and kicks off from the wall again to land beside him. She pulls out a thin blade from the inside of her boot and easily slides it under the panel, flipping it up. With a triumphant grin, she pulls herself under the floor and into the dark space, the others following her quickly inside.

They enter into a new room, following the power cords and wires through a narrow passage way, and find a machine hooked up to April's head. _What the heck are they doing to her?_

"Raph, now!" Leo orders. Ryu must've missed something because by the time she pops back to reality Raph is leaping down to slam his feet into the face of a giant brain, obviously the leader of the others based on its side. Donnie is climbing down the wires and she follows after him to help. The machine hooked up to April must be doing something to her brain because the redhead's stare is blank, her once bright eyes dull in the bright light of the room. Her whole body is shaking as if she's seizing, but Ryu can tell it's much more complicated than that.

Whatever this machine is doing to her brain must be causing her body muscles to spasm. _That's got to be painful_ , she thinks. As Donnie is busy unhooking the machine from April, Ryu pries off some tech that looks interesting and stuffs it into her pouch on her side. When they get April unhooked, Donnie catches her as her knees go limp and April leans against him.

"You're my hero," April sighs dreamily. Donnie gazes down at her, his green skin turning cherry red, and he chuckles giddily.

Ryu's eyebrows rise to her hairline, "Easy, giggles."

"Yeah, hey, chuckles, we need to leave," Raph agrees. They head for the door, Donnie pulling April onto his back to carry her, and as they round the corner, more Kraang attack. The room is like a cylinder stretching up to somewhere that Ryu didn't really care to think about. The walls are gapped with those odd Kraang shapes, making them look like there are levels above them to other rooms.

A screech jabs her ears and she pulls her eyes down from the tall walls to find a Kraang brain flying right at her. She steals Donnie's bow staff as he runs by.

"Hey!" He cries.

She swings it hard like a baseball bat and knocks the Kraang away where it crashes into a mechanism on the wall and in an instant the ship groans around them, setting off an alarm. "Oh, what now?" She complains.

"Whatever it is, you did it," Raph points out.

"Are you ever gonna stop being so hostel towards me?" Ryu grumbles, pointing the tip of the staff at Raph's face.

"No," he responds, "I don't trust you."

"Well, I don't trust you, either!"

"Guys!"

They both turn to face Leo who has started to slide across the floor. They both glance around and sure enough the whole room is starting to tilt.

"Titanic," Ryu mumbles.

"Ti-what?"

"Nothing," She rolls her eyes at Raph. As he slides across the floor past her, he grabs her wrist and pulls her along as he jumps up. They start running up the walls as they level off and become the new floor. Ryu leaps after the turtles, hurdling over the gaps as fast as she can to keep up. "There," She calls, pointing up ahead to a remaining pod, "We can use it to get out."

"How do you know?" Raph calls over to her.

"Just a hunch."

"Hey, Leo," Mikey shouts, "Question."

"Can it wait?" Leo growls.

"No," His younger brother shoots back.

"Then what?"

"Did we kill that big Kraang brain thing?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," Mikey nods, "Then why is it following us?!"

Ryu glances back over her shoulder and sure enough, that giant brain thing in question has grown metal limbs and is racing after them over the gaps. It fires the gun on its head at Mikey and he trips down one of the gaps. At the pod, she spins around to watch as Leo attacks the giant brain, cutting off its gun, and then ducks down the gap to help Mikey back up.

"Get in the pod!" Ryu orders, helping Donnie up with April and then Raph hops in after them. She keeps glancing back to check on Leo's progress and Mikey leaps up finally into the pod. "Leo, let's go," Ryu calls at the blue masked turtle who has stopped and turned to face the Kraang brain.

"No, leave."

"What?" Donnie exclaims.

"No way," Mikey adds.

"We're not leaving you behind," Raph agrees.

Ryu watches Leo's back, studying his body language. He's not going to budge. Ryu can tell this just by reading this. She doesn't need to use her ability to see it. She unties the whip at her hip and flips it out where it curls out across the floor.

"He's right. Go," She repeats.

"We're not-."

Ryu kicks the side of the pod, pushing it free from its slot on the floor, and the lid closes on Raph's sentence before he can finish. The Kraang brain races for the pod. Leo leaps over it and entraps it in a chain. Ryu slings her whip out and does the same to hold it back.

"Leo!" Raph cries.

"Go, I can't hold this thing back any longer," Leo shouts.

Raph glances uneasily at Ryu who meets his gaze, struggling to keep her grip on the line, and nods firmly. The pod picks up and shoots out of the escape hatch that closes shut tightly a second later.

The Kraang brain snaps through the chains and whip and turns on them. Leo is in the line of attack, the Kraang dropping one of its metallic limbs down on his head. Ryu grabs Leo by the arm and jerks him out of the way.

"Come on!" She demands, pulling him along behind her as she ducks down a passageway between the gaps in the wall and into another similar tunnel. Other pods are here, full of people who had been captured. Spotting a nearby computer screen on the wall, Ryu taps a few buttons and the escape hatch opens up, "You have to get out."

"What about you?" Leo argues.

"I can take care of myself. You need to get back to your brothers. They need a leader and their family."

Leo is about to say something else, but she shoves his shoulder sharply and he falls into the sharp vacuum of wind pulling out the hatch and he vanishes outside. The other pods in the tunnel pop out of the holds and get sucked out with the vacuum just as the ship crashes into the water.

The water hits her square in the chest, winding her, and she's forced to wait until the chamber fills up all the way up. Her lungs burn for air, her arms straining to hold their grip on the gap in the wall, but the water's roaring current is pulling her too hard.

 _If I don't do something quick, I'll drown_ , she thinks. With all the strength she can muster, Ryu lets go of the wall with one hand and pushes through the current to unclip her mask on her belt before bringing it back up to cover her face. The mask whirls through the water pressure but then slowly resets its functions, sucking in a few drops of water and changing them to oxygen. Ryu breathes in the sudden rush of air; it's nothing like fresh oxygen but it'll do. The tunnel fills up, the current slowing enough for her to start climbing towards the exit, and she pushes herself out the hatch and into the open water. She's too far below the surface; the ships descent sucking her down with it. Panicking, she hurls out her power in all directions, hoping to find some song she recognizes, and hears the earth.

 _I'm near enough. I can hear the earth. I can feel it below me. The bottom isn't far away._ Her power touches with the bottom and the wet dirt moves aside slowly, sifting away to let a rock come lose and float up to her. She grabs onto it, thanking it, and it pulls her to the surface in a rush. The water breaks as she does and Ryu heaves herself up to stand on the slippery rock. The moss feels slimy even through her boots; but she ignores it. Her eyes scan the water to find the other pods containing humans have made it out safely as well. She smiles; the little girl from the street would be reunited with her mother soon. She'd have her family back.

"Ryu!"

She turns to look down below and spots Leo, his brothers, and April all waving up to her. She smiles wider and waves back; happy for the first time in a long time to see a family whole. With one last glance, she turns her head and the rock floats her away back towards shore.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	6. Chapter 5: 2-3 Follow the Leader

**This is why I don't like writing these "Author's Notes". No one reads them. Writers cannot become better if they don't get feedback, people. A simple "** _It was terrible_ **" or** " _I spotted a few things wrong here..._ " **or** " _I liked it_ " **would only take five seconds to type. Your fingers won't fall off, I promise.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _5_**

 ** _2-3: "Follow The Leader"_**

 _Falling green stars…_ Ryu's thoughts have been in a jumbled mess since she's closed the shop this afternoon. Two of her customers, older gentlemen in their mid-seventies, had mentioned catching glimpses of the anomaly a few nights ago. And she hadn't believed a word of it. Surely these old men had gone senile. But they hadn't; she'd closed shop, prepared to take a shower, but had to cut it to a short bird bath when a news report on her TV had repeated exactly what the two old loons had witnessed.

Turns out they weren't as loony as Ryu had thought.

The wind is gentle this night, blowing like a whistle from a kid's train horn. The stars, however few there are to be seen above the city lights, twinkle brightly in welcome as Ryu climbs to the top of the roof. She hadn't bothered to dry her hair, she didn't have the time, so she had simply pulled it back into her usual braid that she wears out every night. Now is hangs over her right shoulder, drops of water sliding over the red bead clasped at the end of the braid and then falling to the ground as it drips off the ends of her hair.

Taking a deep breath, she takes off.

Her legs carry her easily, silently, over the roof tops, launching her over the alleyways and into the air effortlessly to the next building across from it. Coming out at night like this and searching until the early hours of the morning has gotten her little sleep since she's been here, but she loves it. It's like being back at the sanctuary with the other students and her guardians; she doesn't have to be so cautious about hiding her features from the prying eyes of normal humans.

Another gap between the buildings approaches and Ryu jumps it quickly, misjudging the distance a bit and having to tuck into a roll before standing to her feet once more.

"You see dragon gate over there?"

Ryu skids to a stop, a second from stepping out of the shadow of a water tank, and comes alert. The voice is distant, but it's there.

"I'm going to defend it. Like, 'King of the Mountain'. Now, the only way you can get past me is to use traditional close quarters fighting. Got it?"

 _King of the…what?_ , Ryu wonders, peeking out around the water tank. Just across the street, diagonally from her, she spots the turtles just starting to walk to the edge of the building. Strong, steel, cable wires connect from their building to the roof of dragon gate directly across from them on Ryu's side of the street. Leo walks out skillfully onto one of the cable wires, the Chinese lanterns dangling from them swinging in response, and turns back to face his brothers as he draws his sword.

 _What are they doing?_ Ryu goes to the edge of the roof, leaning against the ledge and folding her arms on top of it to watch them.

Mikey walks out onto the cable Leo stands on and glances back at his brothers Raph and Donnie who nod at him. Ryu raises an eyebrow. With the sigh given, Mikey slips a pair of head phones into his ears and starts dancing out across the wire.

"What are you doing, Mikey?"

Mikey doesn't respond, swinging to the rhythm of whatever song he's listening to. Leo glares and charges his brother with his swords raised, but Mikey drops into a spin on his back.

"Real funny. Come on!" Leo orders. The young turtle dances his way along, dodging all of Leo's jabs before jumping high and landing on the top of dragon gate behind him.

"Made it! Ha! Woo!" Mikey cheers.

"Ugh, that's not fair. That was not a real fight!" Leo complains, but he's interrupted when Donnie steps out onto the wire, the next to challenge him. Ryu starts to grin. Whatever had been the 'sign' between the other three, Leo is obviously oblivious. Poor guy. Leo faces Donnie with a frustrated smirk, "Okay."

Donnie pulls out a single ninja star with a return smile, pausing a moment, and then starts throwing one after the other in all possible directions.

 _What the heck?!_ Ryu narrows her gaze in confusion.

Leo has to spin around on the wire, quickly shifting in sword in frantic movements to block the ninja stars that come bouncing back at him. "Ow! Are you kidding me, Donnie!"

When he finally stops to catch his breath, Donnie has already made it the top of dragon gate. "Oww, king of the mountain, baby!" Donnie cheers.

Mikey smacks his brother's fist with his own and wraps his arm over his shoulder. "That's my ninja!"

"So, what's your trick gonna be?" Leo asks Raph, irritation tainting his voice.

"Trick?" Raph scoff with an impish grin.

 _Oh, no_ , Ryu sighs knowing full and well that he's got something up his sleeve no matter what he says.

"What are you guys talking about?" There's only a split second of pause before Raph hurls one of his sai at Leo right after he speaks and Leo fumbles to block it quickly.

"Hey, ninjas never throw their weapons," Leo scolds. Raph barrels across the wire and slams into his brother, knocking him off the wire and down into the street. Ryu gasps in alarm, jolting up straight where she stands.

 _That was plain dirty!_

The other three turtles leap down from dragon gate to the street right after and cheer.

"Why do you always undermine my training?!" Leo shouts.

"You just want us to fight exactly like you fight," Raph shoots back, "but the whole point is to make it to the dragon gate anyway we can, right?" With that, he stalks away with his brothers, leaving Leo alone in the streets below.

Ryu glares down at them. _Some family._

* * *

 _An hour has gone by and I haven't seen anything!_ Ryu lands on the next roof and climbs the ladder to the top of a water tank to sit down. The moon light shines down from above, washing over everything with a gentle pale glow. She lies out across her back to gaze up at it, folding her arms back behind her head and breathes out a heavy, loud sigh, "Can this night get any more boring?"

A metallic hum and then a whirl come flying by.

Her eyes widen in surprise, but she doesn't move. It's close by, too close. And it sound like the noise a robot would make. _The Kraang?!_

"Alright, listen up. We take them alive. Watch them and learn from them," A female voice orders coldly from below. Ryu rolls over slowly, so as not to make a sound, and inches to the edge of the water tank to glance below.

Ninjas. All dressed in black with weird beady red goggles on over their faces. In front of them, standing at the edge of the roof is a girl with short cropped black hair that's shaved short in the back and dyed blonde. Whoever she is, Ryu can tell she's bad news. Just by the expression on her face.

"Move out!" The girl orders, pointing across the street harshly. Ryu moves to the other side of the water tank to watch them all jump from the building top, race across the street, and vanish down a stairway to a basement access. Ryu goes after them, being sure to keep to the shadows at all times. Whatever is down here has got to be important and she wants to know what it is.

And it's nothing. Just another normal basement packed with boxes and crates stacked on top of one another. Yawn.

More voices make her stop to duck down behind one of the crates and peek out around the corner of it. _And here they are again_ , Ryu rolls her eyes at the turtles coming across the room, _Are they never in the middle of something?_

"Oh yeah! Found it!" Mikey cheers, waving his hands into the air as he runs over to a cylinder canister lying in the ground. Ryu eyes it curiously. It's filled with a green glowing liquid inside. "Go ninja, go ninja, go!"

Just as Mikey is picking it up-.

"Don't!" Leo cries. In a flash, garage doors all around the basement drop from the roof and slam shut, one directly behind Ryu barely an inch from her fingers. She jerks back with a silent _yelp_.

 _What the heck just happened?_

"You see? If you would listen to me-."

Leo's lecture is cut off by another voice, the same voice Ryu had heard on the roof, "Easier than I thought."

"Karai!"

"Long time, eh, Leo?" The girl called Karai greets back coldly. Her black ninja circle the turtles out of nowhere and force them back to back.

"Your lady friend is getting really good at setting ambushes," Donnie snaps at Leo.

 _Wait, she's a friend?_ Ryu eyes the Karai girl warily, sending her power flowing into the floor towards the new girl in case she decides to attack. Karai's body language practically screams 'bad' but...Ryu can almost see some hesitation there as well. Does she want to kill the turtles or not?

The battle explodes in the room and Ryu moves to try and find a way out. She's gotten close enough to the turtles as it is; she can't risk the state of her mission to get any closer. They can take care of themselves anyway. All the garage doors she comes to are sealed shut tightly, not budging an inch when she pulls on them. She reaches out with her power, ready to just rip them open with her bare hands, but then she over hears Leo order the turtles to fall back and she glances back over the boxes.

They're heading for an elevator. _Great I can use that when everybody leaves…or follow this Karai chick out whichever way she goes._ She crouches down to wait them out, itching to get back out into the street and away from here before she's seen.

Too late. Another robot-like whirl catches her attention and she rolls to dodge a blade that comes down on her skull. It's sharp edge embeds into the crate right where her head had been, splintering the wood as if it's as thin as paper.

"Wow, that was too close," Ryu huffs. The black ninja comes at her again, but when she goes to dodge once more, it blocks her path with the blade, grabbing her around the neck and crashing her back against the wall.

 _Did this guy just read my movements?_ Her eyes widen at the ninja whose goggles flash red for a moment, followed by a low whirl. _Holy chiz, these guys are robots!_

She slams her hand into its face, expecting the contact to ring a song out of the metal it's built from, but nothing comes except for a familiar dead, dull thrum and horror strikes her. It's Kraang metal!

"You gotta be kidding me!" She growls. Her arm reaches out and flattens against the wall to her left, her palm slapping the concrete wall. The earth she knows sings out and she grabs hold of it with her power. Jerking her arm back to herself, a huge chunk of the wall rips out and she slings it around into the robots head, knocking it away. "Stay down," She grumbles, taking off into the center of the room to go towards the elevator.

"Get off!" Leo's voice comes screaming out of it. "Karai, let me go!"

Ryu skids to a stop and quickly ducks behind another group of crates to hide again just as Leo is dragged out of the elevator shaft, tied up in ropes. Ryu's eyebrows rise up; maybe she will have to help now.

"It's nothing personal, Leo," Karai smirks as the robot ninjas force Leo onto his knees before her," I'm just after your rat master."

 _Splinter_ , Ryu thinks. The back of her neck tingles and she spins around. Another sword is coming at her, three robot ninjas baring her path to ensure she has no escape. She pulls up her first into the air as if she's going to guard her face and a shaft of the cement floor shoots up in front of her. The sword clangs off of it loudly. Ryu scrambles to her feet, but the robots grab her and force her to the ground, placing one foot on her back.

"What's going on?" Karai calls over to them. They tie up Ryu's hands and then her arms to her sides and drag her before Karai. She struggles but the robots hold her down on her knees beside Leo who glances at her in confusion.

"What are you doing here?" He asks.

"Right now, I'm asking myself the same question," Ryu growls through her teeth, silently cursing her cat-like curiosity.

"So you know each other," Karai observes. "Gag them both. We're leaving."

"Wait, hold on. You can't-!" Ryu's argument is cut off as she and Leo are both gagged with white cloth that is tied up behind their heads. Ryu is forced to her feet and dragged along by the extra strong robots. _I guess she can._

She sighs and goes quietly; she can wait for an opening to escape later. They're lead back outside to a white van where they're loaded up and driven off to some unknown place. Across from her, Leo raises an eyebrow, something odd to see seeing as he doesn't really have eyebrows from what she knows, and she shifts her eyes away. The van pitches and tilts as it travels along, making more turns than she can count, but by the time it takes for it to stop at its destination, she's certain that they've arrived at a not so good part of town.

The van's back doors are torn open, revealing Karai's cold gaze. "Get out. Bring them to the dojo."

 _Dojo?_ Ryu blinks. The ninja bots drag them inside the building and up the stairs to the dojo on the top floor. The room is lit by moonlight through a skylight made of windows above, giving the room a gentle glow. They're forced to their knees again before a desk where Karai sits down leisurely, almost too comfortably.

 _This girl is really confident. You can read it in her movements._ The ninja robots remove their gags and Ryu lets out the rest of her speech. "You can't just take me captive when I have nothing to do with this!"

"Leo seems to know you, and any friend of the turtles is an enemy of mine," Karai responds easily, filing her nails.

"Friend?" Ryu scoffs. She glances at Leo out of the corner of her eye. This is her chance to escape. "I'm not friends with those…things! I'm trying to kill them."

Leo spins wide eyes at her in alarm. Karai stops filing her nails to gaze at Ryu in curiosity, "Kill them, you say?"

"Yeah," Ryu glares, "They've done nothing but get in the way of my work since I came to this crappy city. I want them gone."

Karai raises any eyebrow slowly, glancing at Leo in thought. "Well, now. This just became rather interesting. If you're so bent on killing them too then it looks like we have something in common."

"I take it from everything that's happened, they're not your spot of tea either," Ryu observes.

"We have our…backgrounds," Karai's grin drops to a straight line on her face. "Let's make a deal."

"Deal?"

Karai stands up from her desk and pulls out a small dagger from the red wrap around her waist as she approaches Ryu. Ryu's palms are suddenly itching to have a weapon of her own. "If you and I both want them dead, then we'll team up. I could use help giving orders to my new Foot bots and you could use some help taking down the turtles."

Ryu eyes her, hearing the real motive behind the girl's words, "So what you're saying is you want me to help order these robots around in exchange for the information I've got on these turtles."

Karai grins, leaning down to place the cold blade against Ryu's wrist, the pulse in her artery jumps in the sudden exposure. One slice and Ryu could bleed out before her healing could take over. Instead the blade moves out, slicing through the binds on her wrists and then through the ropes around her arms. She's released. _Wow, I'm free? You mean, that actually worked?_ Ryu stares in awe down at the loose ropes dangling around her elbows.

"Do we have a deal?" Karai asks again, holding the blade up as if to emphasize the point that if Ryu turns her down, she'd not be allowed to live. Great.

"Yeah, I admit that it would be easier to get rid of these turtles with some extra help. But I have a condition of my own."

"This deal isn't negotiable," Karai lowers her tone, her smile vanishing again.

"It is if you want the information I have," Ryu shoots back, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg casually. "I want Raphael."

Leo jerks from the corner of her eye but Ryu doesn't move to glance at him. The action would surely give her away.

"Why Raphael?"

"Simply because he's caused me the most trouble out of all of them," Ryu states flatly. In all truth of the matter, he'd be easier to convince to help her; gullible loser.

Karai grins again, crossing her own arms to mimic Ryu's stance, "Have to agree with you there. He is the most stubborn, but he's not smart enough to realize that."

Her arm is abruptly overwhelmed with the urge to hit her…She blinks it away. _What the hay?_ Karai hold out her arm and Ryu does the same, shaking hands to seal the deal. Now all there is left to do is find a way out of this mess.

* * *

Karai had made her hide behind the desk, agreeing to give the signal when the other turtles came in to save their brother. Leo is tied up nearby, his back to the wall a few feet from her. Ryu watches him silently. Of course she isn't going to give the signal, she's going to wait until she's sure that things are safe for her to move out and grab Leo. Then she can get them both out. _Not like I have a choice_ , she thinks, _I did kind of get him in this mess…sort of. If I really think about it, the only reason I got caught was because I was too curious for my own good and had to go following a bunch of black dressed ninja._

So yeah, she kind of owes him. Taking one last breath, she starts to move towards Leo, but stops as shadows zip across the floor. _No, not now!_

Leo's brother's leap to the floor, making no sound what so ever. Leo spots them and starts shaking his head frantically, his mouth covered in tape to keep from talking. Raph sneaks up and rips it off. "We can't understand you," He hisses under his breath.

"It's a trap!" Leo shouts.

Foot bots, as they are aptly named, drop from all around and Karai steps into the room with more behind her. Ryu stands up slowly, deeply wishing she was somewhere else right now. Raph spots her and his gaze narrows.

"Looks like my trapped work. Now I have all of you," Karai smirks.

"She's after Splinter," Leo explains as his brothers get him loose from his bonds so that he can stand and fight.

"Like I said, it's nothing personal," Karai lifts a hand and points at Ryu. "And now that I have more help, I'll get Splinter much more easily."

"What?!" Raph roars. He turns on Ryu, baring his sai to her throat and glaring at her. Ryu holds her ground, refusing to do anything except stare blankly at him. Just faintly, she's not sure if it's true, his skin appears flushed but it could just be his red mask. "I knew Splinter was right to tell us to stay away from you. We never should've trusted you!"

Her eyes widen a little. Splinter had told them to stay away from her? They never should've trusted her? Does that mean that he **had** started to trust her? "Would you stop blowing your top so I can do my job?" Ryu sighs.

Raph presses his blade to her neck and gets in her face, growling, "And what job would that be?"

"Capturing you, Raphael," Karai answers for her. Ryu shuts her eyes as her anger begins to boil, trying to keep her emotions in check.

"Wrong," Ryu shoots back, "Double crossing you."

"Wha-!"

Ryu cuts off Karai's shout as she flicks Raph's sai away from her neck, reaches into the floor with her power, and flips up a slab of metal flooring to shove in front of the doorway. Behind it, she can hear Karai's voice ordering the Foot Bots to tear it down and Ryu forces her power against the slab to hold it in place. The turtles take out the few Foot Bots in the room and then head for the rafters.

"Ryu, come on!" Leo yells across the room. Ryu goes to move, but when the slab budges from its position almost instantly, she forces her back against the earth. "Ryu!"

"Go," she demands, her feet sliding. "I'll hold them off to buy you some time."

"But-."

"Go!"

Leo leaps out of the sky light and disappears. Ryu's feet slide more, another inch, and then another. Two seconds later, a fist punches through the earth slab right next to her face. "Oh, I hate robots!" Ryu snarls as she kicks up another shaft of metal from the floor that lodges up against her first slab to hold it in place long enough for her to get out.

Up in the rafters, the slab bursts and Karai races in, "You, what are you?!"

Ryu spins around and grins down at the crazy girl, "A soon to be Dragon."

Karai pauses. "A what?"

Ryu leaps out onto the roof and races to the edge of the roof.

"Ryu, over here!"

She skids to a stop long enough to spot the turtles on the roof nearby who wave at her, but then leaps back as the Foot Bots start to flip out onto onto the roof behind her. She shoves her power into the building's edge she stands on and it splits off from the side, creating a rock for her to float up into the air on.

"Let's see you guys fly!" She laughs down at the Foot Bots left to stare up at her blankly before taking off through the air. She flies around a corner, racing down alley way after alley way until she lands below in a small park area. A swing set, merry-go-round, and monkey bars sit silently out here, unused; lonely. "Finally out of sight. There's no way they could've kept up with me."

Foot bots land in the park from a building top to her left.

"Why do I open my mouth? Why?" Ryu growls in frustration. She takes off to her right, covering the distance of the park and then launches herself up into the air to get to the roof above. A whole line of Foot Bots block her path and she's forced to balance on the edge of the building for a split second before flipping away from their blades and landing back into the park. "Great, now what?"

The Foot Bots surround her and she kicks up the ground and the earth throws them back to the other sides of the park where they had come from. "Ryu," Leo's voice shouts.

The turtles land in the park and race up to her as she comes to the center next to the swing set. Raph is about to start up another argument, but she covers his mouth to shut him up, "Leo, no offense, but your girlfriend has some seriously twisted issues."

"As we've all said," Donnie agrees, throwing a look at Leo.

"But no time for that, you guys need to get out of here. I'll lead them off."

"No way, I've got a plan and we're all going to help each other," Leo rejects her option. She raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Yes, we're all going to work together."

"Why?" She asks.

"Because that's what friends do, Ryu, no matter how much you fight the fact."

Ryu is about to reply, but Raph covers her mouth, his hand blocking her nose as well.

"Now, let's go. Do you guys remember 'King of the Mountain'?" Leo inquires. His brothers all nod along with Ryu and they all glance at her.

She pulls Raph's hand away from her face, "I was sorta…watching you guys train…yeeeaaaah…" She glances up at Raph, her expression flipping to anger almost instantly. "And speaking of which, we're gonna need to have a long talk about that."

"What?" Raph shrugs innocently.

"You know what. Okay, so what's the plan?"

Leo nods as the Foot Bots close in, forcing the group to stand back to back, "Same as it was at dragon gate." He steps out and attacks the nearest Foot Bot and the other turtles catch on a bit quicker than Ryu.

"Oh, I get it," Donnie grins. "Do our thing!" He takes off to follow his brother's actions.

"Say what?" Ryu calls, ducking a sword from a Foot Bot. Raph takes out a Foot Bot coming up behind her and it sparks insanely before dropping to the ground.

"Fight unpredictably," He explains, throwing his weapon.

Watching him run off to help his brothers, Ryu thinks for a second of how she can be unpredictable. Earth is a straight forward element; no different angels about it. So being erratic isn't something she's been very good at in her life. She's more of a blunt person. So what does she do?

Four Foot Bots circle her, readying their weapons. Ryu's shoulders slump in discouragement, "Man, what I'd give for few more sets of arms…or a few more me's."

She leaps up as they all attack, running into each other, and she touches down on one of their heads before flipping over them and running off. Mikey has his head phones on again, prancing around the Foot Bots easily. Donnie is throwing his ninja stars around randomly.

She watches them, leaping up to avoid being hit by another blade, she stares down at the Foot Bot as its goggles blink red in anticipation of her moves. Her eyes narrow in thought, staring at the brown soil below their feet…

 _A few more me's…_ A smile slowly creeps onto her face. Why couldn't there be more hers? All she had to do was make some. Let these bots fight them instead of her. _Let's see how smart these things really are_ , Ryu thinks.

Flipping over the Foot Bots' heads, she holds her arms out to her sides, calling out to the earth spiraling under her and its song joins with the song of her power with a hum like a wind chime. The earth tears up in a flash - thick mounds of dirt that morph and grumble as they grow taller and taller until they flesh out into clay versions of herself. The four clay versions, outnumbering the two Foot Bots, take their stance and do nothing but dodge their attacks; that's all Ryu can muster at the moment. She has to put concentration into moving each earth form and her concentration doesn't span that much, which would explain why everyone calls her space case a lot of times.

She skips a few paces away and then uses Raph's shoulders to launch herself head over heels over him, the action causing their eyes to meet as she's spinning over him. His green eyes widen in surprise and she tries not to grin. Her feet kick up sand as she lands in front of him and her power expands into the dirt, creating another clay copycat which she pushes towards the Foot Bots he's fighting.

"I had that," Raph grumbles, crossing his arms.

"Oh, I know," Ryu shrugs, "But I just thought you could use some help."

"Well, I don't need it!"

"Ya sure?" She raises an eyebrow as a Foot Bot swoops up to attack behind him and she shifts her eyes ever so slightly to target it. Before she can move, however, Raph spins like a flash of lightning and kicks it away. Nodding in approval, Ryu claps. "Okay, okay. You've proven your point."

"Beat that!" Raph challenges with a grin.

Off behind him, the Foot Bots she had originally distracted with her clay models are beginning to catch on and smash the clay ' _Ryu_ 's to pieces. Ryu bites her lower lip, "No time. I think the Bots are catching on." She looks around for Donnie and Mikey and sure enough the Foot Bots they're fighting are beginning to grow smarter as well. "I think it's time for us to move."

She and Raph head to the alley way, followed closely by Donnie and Mikey, and they bring the fight to the roof tops once again. Soon they spot Leo fighting the ninja girl in black, Karai, over on dragon gate.

 _How convenient_ , Ryu rolls her eyes. The Foot Bots catch up with her and she's force to spin and kick the closest one into the three behind it like a bowling ball to bowling pins. _Just how many of these things are there?!_

"Leo!" Donnie calls. "The Foot Bots have learned out moves!"

"Our crazy has become normal!" Mikey adds. Ryu pauses at his words and wants so bad to just laugh, but holding back the Bots is taking up too much of her time. Raph leads a few more past her, catching her eye, and she leaps up next to Donnie.

"Seriously, we need to vanish. Like, now," She yells. Leo comes dashing by, Ryu and his brothers stepping into line behind him and Donnie throws a smoke bomb as they land on a fire escape nearby.

* * *

"Okay, start talking," Ryu demands, sitting down on top of a metal dumpster and crossing her legs Indian-style and her arms across her chest. She glares down at the turtles impatiently as they glance around at each other.

"Alright," Leo sighs, "You helped us so-."

"Oh, helping has nothing to do with it," Ryu cuts him off, "I just took on ninjas…who were actually sooped up robots in disguise that were made of metal that I can't move and could learn a fighting style that took me **years** to pick up in. Five. Seconds. FLAT!"

Ryu grabs the front of Leo's shell near his neck and pulls him towards her until he's right in her face.

"Start talking," She growls through her teeth.

"We're not really sure ourselves. This is our first time fighting them too, but since they were with Karai, that must mean that they're part of the Foot Clan."

Ryu scoffs out a laugh, "The Foot Clan?"

"Yeah, they're an evil clan of ninja from Japan and their leader is a man named Shredder," Leo continues in a rush. When Ryu finally lets him go he releases a breath and finishes, "Karai is one of them."

"And she is exactly…?"

"The princess of the Foot Clan," Raph cuts in from his place across the alleyway, leaning against the wall.

Ryu raises an eyebrow at Leo, "You're dating 'princess-evil-britches'?"

"She's not evil," Leo argues.

"She had you tied up, ready to kill you back at the dojo," Ryu point out.

"She was using me as bait."

"She's in the Foot Clan!" Ryu suggests again, struck with disbelief that he's actually defending that psycho.

"No body's perfect," With that Leo shrugs and smiles up at her.

Ryu's jaw drops in shock, "Is he always like this?!"

"Only with her," Raph gripes.

Rolling her eyes and heaving a heavy sigh of frustration, Ryu drops to the ground and pulls out her phone, "Speaking of out-of-place girlfriends, where's April? Isn't she usually all up in y'alls crazy nights like these?"

They're all silent. She glances up in the middle of punching in commands on her screen, "What?"

Donnie explains what happened a few nights ago. The falling green stars were in fact some kind of mutagen, like the glowing canister she saw down in the basement that they had been after, and one of them had landed on April's dad. He had become a mutant bat, scarring April's already crazy life even further, and she had blamed the turtles for it.

"But…it was an accident…right?" Ryu asks.

"She doesn't see it that way," Donnie hangs his head and shuffles his feet absentmindedly.

Ryu glances worriedly at him. The poor guy looks like he's ready to bawl, but what can she do? Letting out an even heavier sigh, she finishes typing in the command on her phone, "Well, things have gotten way too crazy for me. I guess I've got no choice but to help you guys now."

As if on cue, the turtles' phones all ding at the same time and they pull them out of the waist bands.

"Call me if you need help," She tells them before walking off.

"Wait, how did you do that?" Leo shouts after her, but she's already out of ear shot.

By the time she gets home, it's later than she wants it to be…and her computer is blinking with a new message from her guardians, darkening her mood. "Why now? I'm tired," she complains as she plops down lazily into her roll around chair to click the message.

It's just one sentence, but it's enough to turn her body cold:

 **Your target is on the move again.**

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 **Review please.**

 **-Katt B.**


	7. Chapter 6: 2-4 Mutagen Man

**Wow, this was almost late. I decided to write this next chapter based off of this episode simply for the one scene where that car had been thrown out into the street and exploded when they were fighting just outside April's house...I'm sorry, but** _someone_ **heard that. There's no way no one couldn't hear that. And someone should've gone to investigate or something. So why wasn't anyone seen out on the street or sidewalk? I mean, really? Sometimes this series doesn't seem very realistic.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _6_**

 ** _2-4: "Mutagen Man"_**

Waking up with a headache is one thing she can handle. Waking up with a migraine and having her familiar curled up asleep on her forehead and digging his claws into her temple is another thing entirely.

And it's not in the category of 'things she can handle'.

"Uggh…Claws, Gigi, claws…GIGI!"

Her familiar, an eight and a half inch armadillo lizard, squeaks in surprise as it leaps awake, clawing deeper into her sensitive skull and then rolls up into his signature ring of defense. As soon as he stiffens up, he rolls off her face and down onto her chest.

She tucks her chin to glare down at his 'play-dead-frozen' possum act. "Really?!"

Her familiar doesn't move.

"Gigi," Ryu states sternly. Her familiar shifts his big black eyes in her direction, fear changing to innocence in a second. "Yeah, whatever."

He unrolls on her chest and then claws up to her face where he stares down at her, squeaking out that lizard-like voice that she finds so darn cute and she rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, food. Got it," Ryu scoops him up and places him on her shoulder as she sways out of her hammock, her head pounding terribly. As she crosses the room, she sluggishly picks up her backpack from the floor beside her desk. Fumbling around inside, she finds the plastic container she keeps his mealworm/cricket feast in and opens the lid to pull out a few. But just as she sets it down, he pushes the bowl out of her reach and starts chowing down greedily. "You know, you're going to get fat."

The lizard doesn't respond.

"Geez, sometimes I think you only show up for the free meal," Ryu grumbles as she sits down on her roll around chair and pulls out an aspirin bottle. It's empty. "Noooooo!"

Her phone buzzes on the top of her desk off to her left, bouncing on the table just out of reach. It's been days since it's last rang. She rolls over, too lazy to push her sore body up and reach for it, and turns on the screen. The emoticon she'd made of a miniature Mikey dances on the center of the screen. She opens the message and a picture pops up.

A few actually.

A long stream of pictures, almost in a sequence, shows in slow motion Mikey's actions. He walks past a room that looks like a kitchen, then there's another huge open room, next he gets closer to the TV, Donnie looks up from his computer, Leo starts to grin from in front of the TV, Mikey turns the phone so that it overlooks the back of the couch, Raph is snoring with his mouth open, a long line of drool rolling out the corner of his mouth.

Ryu chokes back a laugh.

The next three pictures get right to the point. Mikey pokes Raph's face, Raph wakes up and spots the phone in his face, and the in the next one the phone must've been dropped because it shows Mikey running away from Raph's fury.

Ryu burst out into hysteria. She can't remember the last time she's laughed this hard and she doesn't care. She turns her phone around to show the last picture to Gigi, "Hey, you've got to see-."

He's gone; the plastic container empty.

Ryu's smile drops off her face, "Lazy lizard."

Her phone buzzes again and she turns it around to find Donnie's miniature emoticon dancing across the screen. She opens the message.

 **Have you seen April around?**

Her brow furrows as she types in a response, **No, why?**

His answer comes back a little hastily, **No reason.**

 _Yeah, now I know something's up_ , she think. "Well, time to get to work," She groans, pushing herself out of her chair to get ready. Once outside, she goes to the gate which she keeps chained and glances outside on the street. It's deserted; a perfect chance for her to try out her new bike.

She swings her leg over the cracked leather seat and cranks up the engine. It roars to life. One thing she's always enjoyed in life that helps ease her stress is working on engines and an old bike she found in one of the piles in the junk yard has been her private stress reliever for the last week. Now it's finally ready to take out on a test run.

Reaching out with her power, the ground shifts open and a tunnel is dug out right under the gate; no use in wasting time unlocking the lock on the fence. She grins as she swerves out into the street, the ground filling back up as if the hole was never there, and the tires squeal across the asphalt. Racing down the road, Ryu's thoughts start to drift to Donnie's text. It'd been short, too quick. Something's up.

 _Well, Donnie had been asking about April, so I'll start with her. Maybe she'll know something about what's going on with the turtles. Then again, according to what Leo told me about what happened with her father, she probably won't want to talk to me either_ , Ryu thinks.

Donnie's face flies across her thoughts. He'd been so sad the other night when she had asked about April. He must have it bad for her.

 _But why would a turtle like a human anyway?_ , Ryu wonders, the night wind whipping her hair braid back from where it hangs free from under her helmet. _Is April even attracted to him? This is all too dramatic for me. I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to talk to Donnie about all this. I mean, I know he likes her, but how would it work out if April liked him back? They're too different._

A loud roar wrenches her out of her thoughts and she looks up quickly only to be slammed into from the side. Thankfully her helmet breaks her head's fall as it smashed into the sidewalk. Her arms are scrapped up along with her legs, a few rips tearing up her leggings and red marks decorate her elbows. Groaning, Ryu pulls off her helmet and rests her head back against the ground. The stars, what few of them there are in the city lights, twinkle down at her from above. They don't spin.

"So glad I got a hard head," Ryu groans.

"Are you okay?!" A woman's voice cries. Ryu looks over to her right to spot a woman approaching and so wishes she had worn her wig and hoodie tonight. Her white hair and marks are exposed to the eyes of all the late night wanderers. The woman approaching stops cold in her tracks and screams a blood-curdling scream that makes Ryu shoot up like a jack in the box to see what's wrong.

Besides her bike being full of dents, she spots a huge…

"What the heck is that?!" She hisses under her breath. It looked like a walking science project.

"You help find…April…O'Neal!" The science experiment yells at a car with two cops in it. Ryu stands up, wrapping her braid up into a bun at the back of her head and pulls her helmet back on to hide it, and goes to crouch down near her bike. Being out in the open like this, this thing can't be a mutant. The cops swing at it with their sticks, the bats ricocheting off its shiny metal canister, and the monster gets angry. It attacks them and then stomps off into the night.

"A very short-tempered science experiment," Ryu corrects herself, eyeing the ruined front end of the police car. To her horror, the two cops are running up to her.

"Are you alright ma'am?"

"I'm fine," Ryu waves at them frantically, "I'm just going to call a tow truck and head home."

"No, no, we're going to make sure you're okay. Let me get your information…"

Ryu growls to herself, eyeing the direction the monster had disappeared in impatiently. _Just my luck_ …

* * *

"No so fast, barrel full of ugly!" Mikey shouts, stopping the canister of goo from following after April.

"Donnie's right, Pulverizer's been drinkin' mutagen," Raph adds as the Pulverizer turns to face them. "You're not going anywhere, pal!"

Ryu skids to a stop on the roof top as she hears their voices, glancing around to figure out which way they're coming from. The following roar shudders through the air and then there's a loud bang as the building shakes under her. The earth's song sings up to her and she uses it to find out the exact location of the fight. It's two streets over to her left.

Just as she drops into the alleyway nearby, she watches the science experiment toss Mikey into a dumpster like a tin can and it falls over onto him. She gasps, "Mikey!"

"Let me go!"

Ryu spins around to find Mutagen man holding Raph to the ground and stretching its hand towards his face, the slimy palms dripping in melting acid. "Ew!" She flips out her whip and snaps it forward so that it wraps around the canister and she pulls it back. "Don't…even…think…about it!"

The slime bucket fights against her hold, Ryu slides across the ground as she plays a game of tug of war and loses ground inch by inch. _He's going to melt Raph's face off if I don't do something now!_

The whip snaps in two and Ryu falls backward onto her butt. The goo monster starts reaching for Raph's face again and she smashes her fist into the ground, ringing out the earth's song. Nothing comes from the metal of the monster's canister except for a dead, dull hum and her eyes narrow in annoyance. More Kraang metal!

But then there's something, an almost noise, like the chime of a tiny fairy that steps on the surface of a puddle of water. The song is small, hardly a song at all amongst the dead buzz of the Kraang metal, but it's enough to stir Ryu's power. There's something on this monster that she can use, that she can grab onto. It's some kind of box on the front of the canister.

 _I don't care what it is_ , Ryu thinks, _I'll take it!_ Pushing her power out, she grabs hold of the small metal box and lifts it up, swinging her fists into the air. Her power flashes through her in a wave, leaving her breathless as she tosses the monster over her head. She falls to one knee, staring at the ground in confusion. _What the heck was that? I've never had that happen before. Why am I so weak?_

Donnie and Leo run up at that point in time, lifting the dumpster off Mikey. Leo is about to attack the goo monster, but Donnie stops him. "Don't hurt him!"

"What?!" Raph screams in disbelief as he goes to grab Ryu by the arm. She blinks out of her thoughts as he pulls her to her feet. Her knees are weak, wobbling a bit. "That thing just tried to melt my face off! If Ryu hadn't stopped him, I'd be even uglier than Mikey."

"Hey!" Mikey growls.

Ryu's knees suddenly give out and she starts to fall down again, but Raph catches her.

"Are you okay?" Leo asks.

Ryu breathes heavily, but somehow manages, "I'm…not too sure."

"Agh! Must destroy turtles!"

They all look up as the goo monster raises up off the ground and get ready to attack again. Ryu gazes up at the monster worriedly. Can she do anything to really help out in her current state?

Raph's hold around her waist tightens, "Donnie, we have to take that thing out."

"I-," Donnie is about to respond but then there's a draining sound, almost like a toilet flushing, and the green goo monsters turns a little less green…

"Powering…down…" The monster mumbles before falling over, knocked out cold.

"What just happened?" Leo asks.

"He ran out of mutagen. Let's get him into the Shellraiser," Donnie demands. The turtles circle the downed monster and start dragging him into the alleyway across the street while Raph helps Ryu walk after them. Hidden away into the shadows, a graffiti-painted, subway car with monster truck tires sits silently awaiting their arrival.

"Uh…what is that?" Ryu asks.

"The Shellraiser!" Mikey says all dramatically. There's a long pause, Ryu glancing at Raph in confusion, but then Mikey's expression shifts into that goofy smile of his. "Named it myself."

Ryu glances at the subway car, "That's…kinda perfect."

"Get in!" Leo cuts in. Raph helps Ryu inside and sets her down against the opposite side on some kind of trap door that bulges up over something under the vehicle. Whatever it is, it's longer than her bike.

"Remind me again, why we're bringing Mr. Personality back to the lair?" Raph asks as Leo starts the Shellraiser and takes off out of the alleyway.

Ryu drones out their conversations, getting more and more tired by the second. Leaning over to wrap her arms around her legs and rest her head on top of her knees, she looks over the monster lying on the floor. Whatever it was that Donnie said he ran out of has dissolved the huge arms and legs leaving just a canister of goo on the floor.

"All my April talk made him want a friend," Donnie is continuing.

"Wait," Ryu cuts in, "So you texted me about April because of this guy?"

Donnie nods, "He got out tonight because I was ranting about April and her new boyfriend. I saw them swinging together in the park and I just needed to get it out of my system."

"So you told your thoughts and feelings to a pile of guts in a jar?!" Ryu exclaims.

"Heh heh! That's just what Raph said," Mikey chuckles.

"Whoa!" Raph jumps up just as something slithers out of a weird jar on the floor, dripping with a green goo. "He got into the mutagen again!"

"And that means-?" Ryu tries to ask, but then the goo monster regenerates its arms and legs and jumps to his feet to attack again. Leo swerves the Shellraiser trying to avoid the monsters attacks as Ryu presses herself against the wall of the sub car and the beast breaks out of the side door to escape.

Leo squeals to a stop in an alleyway and they all jump out with their weapons drawn. "I thought he was out cold!" Raph says.

"We split up and find him," Leo orders.

"There's no need to split up, we know where he's headed," Donnie argues and they all share a look, leaving Ryu completely in the dark again.

"Ryu you stay here and rest," Leo tells her.

"Yeah, we can handle this," Raph adds, twirling his sai.

"Uh, no."

They all turn to look at her.

"I'm fine," Ryu rolls her eyes and jumps to the ground, only to have her knees wobble again and Raph jump to catch her before she falls over.

"Yeah, you look great," He agrees sarcastically. Ryu glares up at him.

"You have to stay here and rest, Ryu," Leo pats her shoulder, "We're not going to let you get hurt."

Ryu brushes his hand away and wraps her arm over Raph's shoulders so that she can reach down to her right ankle inside her boot. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll be fine," She explains as she snaps the thin as paper chain off of her leg. Holding out the chain to the moonlight, the turtles gaze down at the small single blue jewel on the gold chain of rings.

"What's that?" Donnie asks, observing the jewel as it starts to glow slightly when the moonlight hits it directly as it reappears from behind a cloud.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Ryu grins up at him, enjoying the feeling of knowing something that they don't. "Let's just say, it's a very rare, very special element found where I come from."

"Which is from where exactly?" Raph glances at her.

Ryu just grins at him before crushing the jewel in her fist.

* * *

They all drop down from the fire escape in front of the 'Mutagen Man' as Mikey has dubbed him just as he's about to emerge from the alleyway.

"Where do you think you're going, handsome," Raph grins, "April's house?"

"Keep him in the alleyway. We can't let April's boyfriend see us," Leo orders, getting glared at by Donnie. "Ryu, you ready?"

Ryu lands on the ground behind Mutagen Man and lifts the two spheres from her side pouch with her power, morphing them into twin blades that fall into her awaiting palms. "Ready when you are," She grins.

The fight begins, the Mutagen Man swinging around crazily to hit them as they dodge him angrily.

Ryu takes note of it then: this monster doesn't really know how to fight; he's only relying on brute strength. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spots April peeking out at the fight from around the corner. _So this is where she lives_ , Ryu observes, glancing up at the roof top above.

A trash can comes flying at her and Ryu ducks, hearing it bounce off the corner of the building and April squeal as it does. Leo gets the monsters attention only to be knocked away. He goes after Raph next, grabbing a car and hurling it over his head. Ryu ducks again as the car flies over her and her eyes widen. If that car hits the ground, the sound would alert someone.

She rolls over onto one knee, reaches out with her power to grab hold of the car spiraling towards the ground, and lowers it gently into a parallel park against the curb across the street.

April gasps again and Ryu turns to glance at her. April backs away down the street towards her door, "What are you?!"

Ryu raises an eyebrow and wipes her hands off on her shorts, "Sorry, I don't tell my secrets to anyone outside the group."

April glares at her and then jogs up her steps into her house.

Ryu shakes her head, "Pathetic."

"Ryu!"

Looking up, the fight has taken a turn. Mutagen Man is easily knocking away every attack the turtles throw at him. Donnie and Leo are the closest to her and she goes to help Donnie to his feet.

"Donnie, we have no choice," Leo says to his brother, "Whatever Mutagen Man, uh, Timothy was…he's gone now."

"But if we destroy him, I may never find a retro-mutagen," Donnie argues.

"A what?" Ryu inquires.

"We'll explain later," Leo tells her, jumping back into the fight.

"If I can't find a cure…" Donnie mumbles to himself. "What about April's dad?"

"What about April?" Raph calls as he lands on the fire escape above them.

Donnie gazes down in thought and a moment later he stands up to full height beside Ryu with a look of pure determination on his face. With a sideways glance at Ryu, he nods, "We need to distract him; misdirection and camouflage."

Ryu nods, followed by the other turtles, and she does a back flip into the shadows nearby. Donnie takes off into the street to disappear around the corner where they'd parked the Shellraiser.

The Mutagen Man looks around, trying to find out where they went. Ryu watches from high above, silently, and then twists her wrist to activate the wristband under her arm warmer. A dart shoots out silently into her open palm and she tosses it out at the pile of trash behind the monster. They fall over and he attacks the tin cans noisily.

Mikey calls out and the monster spins around to attack, finding nothing.

Leo and Raph hang from the fire escape above, their eyes glowing in the shadows. Ryu grabs the railing on her fire escape and swings down into the alleyway below, landing without a sound on the uneven cement. She whistles out and Mutagen Man turns. She slides out under his legs, he tries to hit her, and the attack misses her. He falls over onto his knees. Ryu leaps up onto the back of his jar, kicking off to knock him forward, and then vanishes into the shadows of a dumpster.

"Hey Timothy," Donnie calls, appearing at the opening of the alleyway, "Mutagen."

Ryu's eyes widen in alarm. He's holding up a can of that green goo stuff, only this time it looks crazy familiar. It's a lighter blue, shimmering like a thousand stars. Realization hits her dead in her chest, chilling her blood to ice. _Wait, that can't be…_

Mutagen Man knocks Donnie away, forcing him to drop the canister to the ground where it shatters, and he starts to drink up the familiar liquid. "Timothy, no!"

"Not again!" Mikey groans from nearby.

Mutagen Man starts to go for Donnie, reaching out to grab him up by his head, but then he stops. Something is different this time. Ryu leans forward in anticipation, allowing herself to slip out of the shadow of the trash bin, and watches as the monster turns to ice before her eyes.

She doesn't move, even though the others go to Donnies side, congratulating him on his smart thinking. Eventually she climbs to her feet. She knocks a coke can across the ground unconsciously as she comes to a stop by the frozen Mutangen Man. Reaching up, her fingers settle against the cold glass, small dust fragments of frost brush loose to fall to the ground below.

Whatever that blue liquid had been, it hadn't been what she had thought it was. How could she even think that it was? There's no way anyone can _make_ the waters she had become so familiar with. Those sacred wells could never originate in a polluted city like this.

"Ryu?"

She pops out of her thoughts to face the turtles, all of them staring at her thoughtfully.

"You okay?" Leo asks.

At first, Ryu just stares at them, blinking, confused. And then her mind catches up, "Oh, yeah. Sure. Just…" She glances up at the frozen beast beside her, "Just thinking."

She helps them to load the frozen chaos into the Shellraiser and then turns away from them with a wave.

"Well, I'm off!"

"Wait," Donnie calls, "You should really let me check to see if you're okay?"

"I'm fine, Donnie," Ryu turns to walk backwards so that she can smile at him, "Trust me."

She leaps up onto the fire escape and disappears to the rooftops. She's got one last stop to make before going home.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	8. Chapter 7: 2-5 Mikey Gets Shellacne

**Yes, this is late. I've got a life and work. I can't apologize for that. Yet again, my co-writer, (** _KB_ **) says I have to continue with this dumb '** _Author's_ _Notes_ **' and I continue to wonder why I listen. So I'm going to make this short and sweet as I always do: here's a new chapter, enjoy, and leave a comment if you have the backbone what-so-ever to give some constructive criticism behind in your wake.**

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _7_**

 ** _2-5: "Mikey Gets Shellacne"_**

"Ugh," Ryu drops onto the next roof before lying down on the edge to rest. She lets one leg hang off the side of the building, dangling down above the street, and prop the other one up on the ledge where she's stretched out. Knee bent, her boot taps on the hard surface, letting the song of the element give some light to the silent night around her.

She'd been thinking over what she'd discussed with April and she's been regretting the decision to open her mouth ever since…

* * *

 _She'd dropped quietly onto the outside balcony and stared hard at the window shut tightly against the night air. Only a coward would face the night with a blind eye. Ryu approached the window and rapped on the glass sharply, not really caring how late it may have been or if the house owner was asleep. As luck would have it, April came to the window and opened it with a bang, greeting her with a solid glare._

" _What do you want?"_

 _Ryu's eyes narrowed at the girl's attitude; that would need some fixing fast. "To talk," She explained, "What happened-?"_

" _None of your business," April cut her off, going to slam the window shut again._

 _Ryu latched on to the window's metal framing with her power and held it ajar, watching with amusement as April struggled to shut it with all her strength. The window didn't budge._

 _Giving up with a grunt, April crossed her arms and glared deeper, "Alright, what?!"_

 _With a flick of her finger, she raised the window until it was fully open once more, "If you're going to have a sour attitude towards me, who, I remind you, did nothing to you, then this isn't going to go well for the either of us."_

 _April sat down on the window sill, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Fine," She gave in, "I'll talk."_

 _Ryu glared down at her before going to sit on the edge of the balcony to face the red head. "Don't bother. I wouldn't want to force you to do anything that may be a bother to you."_

" _Cut the sarcasm already and-."_

" _Cut the attitude!" Ryu finally burst, snapping at her. "I am not going to take your crap, kid. I don't care what you think the turtles did to you, but I can tell you that they didn't do it on purpose. They care too much about you to do something so cruel."_

 _April sighed heavily and glared out past her, refusing to answer._

" _Look," Ryu huffed, "I didn't come here to argue. I just came here to talk. If you don't want to talk, then at least listen."_

" _Listen to what?"_

 _Ryu smiled as she folded her arms around her drawn up knees and stared up at the bright moon hanging in the sky, "Just a story. A friend of mine…told it to me a while ago, but it's a heavy burden to carry alone. That's why she told it to me...and that's why I'm telling it to you."_

 _April leaned forward, waiting._

" _My friend," Ryu started, "was once a normal girl. She had a family, she went to school, she dreamed…she was happy. But when she was seven a fire consumed her family and destroyed her life."_

" _She was orphaned at seven years old?" April gasped. "She was so young."_

 _Ryu nodded, bringing her eyes down from the sky to gaze into the street below. A mother and father chattered happily as they walked the sidewalk together, their small son hanging onto their hands between them with a beaming smile. "She was the only one to get out that night; she had to watch her family burn inside their house. But, there's a good side to it all."_

" _Yeah?"_

 _Ryu turned her smile to April finally and nodded again, "She was taken in by guardians and they trained to her to be strong. They trained all of us to be strong, to defend those who can't defend themselves."_

" _Guardians?" April asked, raising an eyebrow._

 _The words brushed across Ryu's tongue before she spoke them, "The Dragons. That's what they're called. They gave us a home high up in the mountains and taught us to fight. They're called our guardians."_

 _She stood up, readying to leave as she rubbed her arms absentmindedly._

" _Ryu," April stopped her._

 _She turned around right before climbing the ladder to the roof above and waited for the red head to continue._

" _What…What caused the fire?"_

 _Ryu turned away quickly as her eyes started to sting. "Not what," Ryu began, "Who."_

 _April's expression changed to confusion. "I don't understand. Who-?"_

 _She turned her head to stare at the younger girl, guarding her expression, "Yes, her family was murdered."_

* * *

Ryu gasps, shaking herself out of the dream and breathing heavily only to gasp again as something goes flying by her. She blinks in surprise, "Hey, Mikey? What's-WHOA!"

Mikey turns to face her and she squeaks in alarm.

"Wow," She says slowly, "Wow…just…wow."

His entire face, usually round and adorable, is covered in pimples, making his already bummed out expression even more so, "Yeah, I know. Gross, right?"

"No…" Ryu replies carefully. She folds her hands behind her back and forces a smile. "I was…just…going to say…wow. I thought you guys had already gotten past puberty."

Obviously Mikey doesn't take to the joke because his expression just darkens, "I rubbed mutagen on my face to make me a better ninja and...this happened so now I got to find the center fudge that Baxter stole so that Donnie can make a cure and save me before all my acne spreads and I become one big pimple and then I pop and-!"

"Okay, whoa!" Ryu stop him, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. "I got it. You're in trouble and you need to get this…I'm guessing you meant centrifuge in order for Donnie to make the cure. Speaking of which, where are you brothers?"

Mikey crosses his arms angrily, "Thinking I'm an idiot."

"What?"

"I told them that I knew where Baxter took the center fudge but they wouldn't listen to me so I'm going to get it."

Ryu blink blankly. Her left hand balls into a fist while she reaches up with her right hand to rub her forehead between her eyebrows. No doubt they know Mikey is missing by now and they're coming to look for him but if this acne is as bad as Mikey says they don't have time to wait up for them, "Okay, you're brothers are getting a beat down from me later. Where is this Baxter guy?"

"At his lab."

Ryu waits. When he doesn't answer, she rolls her eyes, "Which is…?"

"Uh…"

"Where?"

"Oh, follow me!" Mikey races off with Ryu hot on his heels leaping over roof tops left and right until they come up on a rather odd-looking building; power cables connected to nearby power lines run to a few antennas on the roof. No doubt this Baxter guy is stealing more electricity than he needs.

"He must be using a lot of power in this place," Ryu notes.

"He has a lot of robots that he makes fight for him," Mikey leaps to the building top and they enter in through a skylight on the roof to land on the rafters high above the floor.

 _So to make robots, this guy's got to have lots of metal around_ , Ryu thinks, a grin sliding onto her face slowly. _This should be easy_.

Below them, she takes in the movement directly under her. She covers her mouth to muffle a curse. "What the heck are those?" She asks.

"Dogpound and Fishface are the two crazy looking dudes. The other guy is Baxter Stockman," Mikey tells her.

"So he's the one who's got all the metal."

"Yep," Mikey pulls out his sickle and chain, lowering it down towards the table where the centrifuge sits quietly. "Maybe if I can just grab it…"

Ryu glances at him then back down at the dog man, chewing on her lip anxiously, as she waits in anticipation. This would be the easiest mission ever...hopefully.

Dogpound whirls around and grabs Mikey's chain in a flash of movement, Mikey and Ryu gasp in alarm. "Oh, crap," She hisses. With a sharp wrench, Dogpound pulls Mikey down from the rafters and the small turtle hits the floor. "Mikey!"

She dives down after him, landing protectively in front of him as Dogpound stomps up. He bares his oversized claws at her with a growl, "Who the heck are you?"

"You're worst nightmare!" Ryu growls back, trying to sound cool, but after a second she stands up out of her stance and props her hand on her hip. "Well, okay, not really, but I will hurt you if you lay a hand on either of us…mostly me…but Mikey too."

"Shut up," Dogpound roars, "Why would I be afraid of a little girl like you?"

"Don't jump to conclusions, flea bag," Another voice joins the conversation. Ryu leans around Dogpound's huge body and raises an eyebrow at the half-fish, half-robot looking creature coming up behind him. "You might actually find some trouble with her."

Ryu looks the fish guy over as they converse, trying to figure out just what it is that she's looking at. Almost instantly, she recognizes the Kraang metal making up the fish's legs and her heart sinks.

"Don't insult me," Dogpound shoots back, balling up his fists, "I won't be outdone by a female."

"She's not just any female. This is probably the same girl Karai has warned us about," The fish-bot points out.

Dogpound turns to Ryu, who is busy being lost in her thoughts as she stares at them with Mikey standing up behind her, "Hmm…looks like an easy win to me."

Ryu jerks out of her thoughts, an old memory coming back to her from her time during her training:

* * *

" _This is your new trainee_ , _" The older student said as he pointed down at Ryu. The other student, around nineteen or so, leaned down to Ryu's height and pulled on one of her brown pigtails with a grin._

" _This is my new mission?" the older girl chuckled, dropping Ryu's pigtail as she stood back up to her full height. "Looks like an easy fail to me."_

* * *

Ryu's eyes narrow as the memory passes, "What did you just say to me?"

Dogpound slams his smaller hand into his bigger hand and grins, "You heard me little girl. Let's see just what little powers you have."

"Little…powers…?" Ryu growls out through her teeth. Her hands ball into her fists tightly at her sides, her jaw locking in anger. _Calm down, Ryu_ , she tells herself, _stay calm…loose it and you'll do something stupid._

She takes a deep inhale, re-centering herself, and breathes out her rage before opening her eyes. "Okay, I'll show you that Karai is right to be warning you about me. 'Cause I'm not very nice."

Beside Dogpound, Fish-guy pulls out a few switch blades and flips them expertly as they both ready for whatever she throws at them. She really wants to grin but she holds it in, kicking her heel into the ground and watching as the earth responds, the floor tearing up in a column to slam into Dogpound's gut and throwing him across the room. She turns to the fish and he eyes her thoughtfully.

"Better than I thought. This should be entertaining," He hisses. Ryu takes a stance, lifting the metal sphere from the small sack latched onto her belt until it morphs into a blade in her hand. The fish grins bigger, "Very entertaining."

"Bring it on, Gill-Bot," She snarls back. "Mikey, go get the centrifuge!"

Mikey goes off, leaving her to deal with the overgrown tuna, "By the way, his name is actually Fishface!"

Fishface goes to throw a blade at Mikey as he runs by, but Ryu grabs hold of the knife with her power and throws it the ground. _Good thing that was real metal_ , she thinks with a relieved sigh.

"So no knives then," Fishface determines. He rushes at her and the fight begins. Ryu dodges his kicks, both jabbing faster than she had anticipated, but one of the claws on his right foot nicks her arm, drawing blood. She flips over him to avoid another kick and lands behind him to land a kick of her own. He stops himself from falling and whirls around on her quicker than she can keep up with, knocking her away and she slides across the metal floor. Her skin along her back and arms burns from the slide, but she gets to her feet despite the sting.

"Ryu!"

She looks up just as Mikey runs overhead along the rafters. _How the heck did they get up there so fast?_ , Ryu jumps to her feet and pulls out her whip to lash it out and wrap it around the nearest rafter to pull herself up. She frees her whip and runs to catch up to them, but Fishface attacks her from below with throwing knives.

"Cheese and sprinkles, ya loser! Go pick on someone your own size!" Ryu yells down at him.

"Aren't you?" He shouts back.

"No! I'm taller than you, fish-stick!"

"Not by much!"

"Funny, you say that when you're the one looking so far up at me."

Fishface growls, pulling out more knives to throw at her and she dodges them as best as she can while running to help Mikey; the effort is more than she's used to but when a friend is in dangers, she really doesn't have a choice.

When she catches up, she finds Mikey hanging from the rafters with Dogpound latched onto his ankle. Far below them is a deep vat of that strange green goo that seems to always be present in every battle she's had in this city. Ryu tears out her whip and slings it forward with a snap. The frayed tips slash at Dogpound's hand around Mikey's ankle, threatening to pull the small turtle down, and Dogpound is knocked loose from his hold. The green goo in the vat splashes out of its calm demeanor as Dogpound hits the surface and sinks under.

Ryu and Mikey gaze down at the goo, watching it resettle in silent dread. _What the heck did I just do? I could've gotten them both back up, why didn't I?_ , Ryu argues with herself. She and Mikey both finally jump down to the floor to go after the fallen centrifuge, but then the vat of goo suddenly explodes as Dogpound comes crawling out.

Something flies over Ryu's head and she ducks as Fishface swings his blades at her, "Would you leave me alone already?!"

"Not until you taste my blades," He answers.

"I have once before, knives taste metallic and gross," Ryu rolls her eyes.

Fishface pauses, "You…tasted a blade?"

Ryu drops her hands and shrugs, "Yeah…I was a kid and I was curious, so I just licked the tip of it; it tasted like a penny. It was nasty and…why are we having this conversation?!"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Ryu turns to look over her shoulder, finding Raph walking up. He grabs her shoulder and forces her to take a step back as he faces Fishface.

"Excuse you!" Ryu snaps. "Go find your own fight. Your brother could use your help," She says as she glances back at Donnie and Leo who've joined him, "But from what Mikey's told me, you guys don't really care either way."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raph growls, getting in her face until his nose is a few centimeters from hers.

Ryu narrows her eyes and steps up to meet his challenge with her own and touches the tip of her nose to his, watching his eyes widen in surprise. "Don't test me, kid, I'm not in the best of moods right now."

Raph opens his mouth to reply, but Mikey cuts them off screaming, "Guys! A little help, please!"

"Go help your brother," Ryu tells the turtles as she faces Fishface again, "I'll take care of the walking sushi."

Leo and Donnie nod and go after Mikey, but Raph hesitates. Fishface lifts his daggers, spinning them fast in his fishy hands, and glares at her.

"Don't even bother." They all look behind Fishface as a man with an afro holds up a metal box and pushes a switch. An alarm sounds and doors open to let in a crazy number of tiny dinosaur looking robots. Fishface chuckles and back up to let the robots in.

"Mousers," Raph growls, flipping out his sai.

"Mow-what?" Ryu raises an eyebrow at the small robots that approach.

"Mousers," the afro man Mikey had called Baxter laughers, "It stands for-."

"Don't care, just tell me if they're made of metal," Ryu waves off his explanation.

"Well, yes actually, they're mostly made of-."

"Wonderful," She sighs and lifts her hand into the air with a flick of her wrist and her power grabs hold of the robots, flinging them into the air and into the wall behind Baxter and Fishface. "Let's go help Mikey," She tells Raph.

"Not so fast!" Fishface calls as Baxter squeals and runs off to hide, "We're not done here."

"I am," Ryu replies.

"Well, I am not!"

"Not my problem. I'm only here to help Mikey get the…Wait, where'd it go?!" Ryu suddenly remembers why they're here and starts to look around for the machine in question. The table it had been on is flipped over, the tech that had once lined it has all been scattered on the floor beyond it. "You got this, right?" Ryu pats Raph's shoulder without giving him a second look before running towards the table.

The contents are all over the floor, the mess an absolute chaos; something she hates a lot. She doesn't see it at all until the last second when Donnie calls from above, "Everyone, get to high ground!"

"What?!" Ryu yells.

Raph races by, pausing to pick something up from the pile and then snag her hand to drag her up to her feet, and then he leads her over to Leo who grabs her by the foot and launches her into the air. She grabs onto a rafter, dangling over the floor below, just as Donnie activates the fire sprinkler system in the roof and it rains down on to Baxter, Fishface, and Dogpound's new form. She blinks at Dogpound, taking in his new 'death-dog-from-hell' look, but then the wall circuit his claws are stuck in sparks and the wet floor is lit up with electricity. He, Baxter, and Fishface are all fried up in the electrical current, leaving Ryu and the turtles with the distraction they need to escape through the roof.

The second Ryu is back into open air, Mikey glomps her in a tight hug, "Thanks, Ryu! I'm totally stoked that you're on the team."

She pauses, narrowing on eye in confusion, "'Stoked'? Wait, 'team'? Hold on!"

Leo pats her shoulder comfortingly, "We've found it easier to just nod and smile with stuff Mikey says, but he's right about you being part of the-."

Ryu shoves his hand off, spins around and swings her arm in a wide arch to slap Raph, Leo, and Donnie in one go across their faces, "What the heck is wrong with you three?!"

They give her blank looks, rubbing the sides of their faces.

"Whatever gave you the idea that I'd ever want to join a 'team' that didn't even act like a 'team'? I mean, you're supposed to be brothers and yet you treat each other as if you're just…UGH!" Ryu throws her hands in the air, stomps away a few feet, and starts taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart. She can feel her pulse pounding in her ears, the song of her power getting too loud inside her. If she loses control here, she'd have to leave. There's no way she'd be able to cover up the damage she'd do in a big city like this.

"Whatever," She finally finds her voice, "I'm going home. Work on your brotherly love, please. And Mikey, I hope you feel better soon."

With that she jumps off the roof and disappears into the shadows of the alleyway, but no matter how badly she wants to go home, to just forget the egos she's been around tonight, she just can't go without knowing that Mikey is okay.

She'd taken to the kid already, no matter how little she knows about him. He reminds her of herself from so very long ago. Back in a time when she's just been a normal girl.

* * *

The stone wall is cool against her back, the feeling seeping through her top and into her skin. She keeps her eyes closed, leaning her head back against the wall where she sits, hidden in the darkness outside their lair.

"Antidote's ready Mikey," Donnie calls, his voice echoing out of the lab, through the lair, and outside to the tracks where she crouches on the old, abandoned loading deck. The Shellraiser is parked silently on the tracks not far away from her hiding spot, but close enough to where she can still read the graffiti painted on the sides.

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Ryu smiles, thinking back to her life back at the sanctuary with all the other students in the village. They always laughed there, everyone smiled. She can't wait to go home.

Mikey starts cheering, his optimisms muffled by the walls between them, but it's enough to reach Ryu and make her smile wider. The antidote must've worked. "I'm super cute again!"

Ryu snorts but quickly covers her mouth with her hands to muffle her laughter. Standing to her feet, she takes one last look around the corner towards the lab, getting just a brief glimpse of Raph, Donnie, and Leo standing beyond smiling. She's surprised to see Raph's smirk, most of the time he's just glaring, but it's still heartening to see.

Her boots crunch across the dirt and loose gravel as she turns and starts to walk away, finally ready to head home. It's the angry presence that suddenly appears behind her that makes her stop. Her smile disappears from her face. She knows who it is; there's no real need to turn around.

But she does anyway, out of respect and faces him for the first time since she was twelve. The long years since she'd last been in this city fall away and she abruptly feels like it's only been a few days rather than years since she'd left the way she did; she drops her eyes to the ground guiltily.

He doesn't say anything, the tunnels remain silent as she waits.

 _Mikey_ , she thinks, _Ask about Mikey._ When she opens her mouth to inquire about him, he stops her sharply.

"What is your purpose in New York?" Splinter states rather than asks. The harsh tone hits her hard, making her flinch internally. This is the reason she stayed away; he'd never forgive her.

 _That's because he'll never understand_ , Ryu tells herself. When she raises her eyes to meet his once more, her face has formed her practiced blank expression. "Just business," She answers just as blankly.

"Do you still walk your same path-."

"Always," Ryu cuts him off.

Splinter's eyes taper in fury, but she doesn't let that draw any animation to her face. There's no reason to; he wouldn't understand. He never will. "Then you will stay away from my sons. I do not want your actions to influence them," He orders her.

Ryu doesn't answer. Stay away from the turtles? When she first came here, she would've happily agreed instantly. Now, though…

She cuts off the thought before it can bury itself into her mind. She bows just her head respectively and then spins away just as hurriedly, letting the darkness eat her alive.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	9. Chapter 8: 2-7 Slash and Destroy

_Yay, this is the first chapter that I wrote!...Simply because Katt B. isn't into the whole 'emotional drama' stuff. So I took over this chapter._

 _It was my favorite episode in the season and I just begged her to let me write it. Hopefully, I didn't screw up the flow of Katt B's style - I tried to continue it as best as I possibly could, but she's better at writing than I am...except for the emotional stuff._

 _When it comes to that...she sucks. (And I really hope she doesn't come back to look over this chapter once I update it 'cause that's going to get me into trouble. LOL)_

 _Anyway, hope y'all like and let us know what you think...especially if you spot any of my screw ups or if the style is too off._

 ** _Review_ _Please!_**

- _Ravyne_

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _8_**

 ** _2-7: "Slash and Destroy"_**

Ryu wakes up to more than just knots in her stomach. Her phone's been going off for hours, but she's forced herself to ignore it up until now. The day had been long enough with all the cars she's had to fix. She'd closed down early to catch up on her sleep; the last week she's been running on practically none. Her stomach wouldn't let her sleep though, not entirely.

And that blasted buzzing! Her phone must be in cahoots with her stomach, both of them refusing her any rest whatsoever until she drops from exhaustion.

Turning over sloppily, her hammock sways dangerously, threatening to throw her to the floor, as she reaches to the rug below for her annoyingly buzzing phone.

"Gaa! Just shut up!" Ryu mumbles sleepily as her fingers fumble across the short strand rug, the fibers tickling her fingertips. Finally locating the frustrating noise box, she lifts it up to where she can peek out from under her covers to see the screen.

It's blurry.

"Really?" She groans. Drawing her phone under the blankets and blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she unlocks the screen and checks what all the fuss is about.

Thirteen messages from Mikey; more pictures of his acne-free face and shell.

Five from Leo; worried about her absence.

Twenty from Donnie; overexcited about something that's happened, followed by pictures of April.

And two from April herself.

Ryu sits up straight as an ironing board the second she sees this. She blinks again, swearing that her eyes are lying to her. _How on earth did she get my phone number?_

She quickly reads the two messages, both asking how she's doing, and then answers them with her own: **Fine I guess….wondering how you got my number.**

The response is almost instant: **Donnie.**

Ryu's eyebrows raise to her hairline: **You two are talking again.**

 **Yeah. We're all friends again. I wanted to apologize to you.**

Ryu's hands, holding her phone between her palms, drop on top of the blanket to her lap. How could she answer that?! April hadn't really done anything, she was just upset. If anything, Ryu should be apologizing for her temper. She sighs and falls back onto her hammock. Her hand moves to brush her hair back from her forehead, revealing her left eye.

Blue as the day sky, but dark to her; she'd been blind in that eye since…

Her phone buzzes again: **Can we talk? Unless you're not feeling well.**

The corner of Ryu's mouth twitches as she texts back: **You know, you're pretty perceptive.**

* * *

She drops to the fire escape below her and her stomach twists again. Ryu had realized that it wasn't because she was sick, but rather it was a warning from her gut. Something isn't right with today.

April opens the window almost a second after she lands and smiles at her as she climbs out. Ryu sits on the ledge overlooking the street where she had last time and puts her back against the window sill. "Wow, you really don't look well. Are you sure you're okay?" April asks.

"Yeah, it's just work and…more work," Ryu lies.

"With…what work?" Ryu narrows her eyes suspiciously at the red head and April shrugs sheepishly, "What? I don't know anything about you, so I figured I'd ask."

"Nothing much to tell, just another troublemaker looking for drama to get into," Ryu admits.

"So no job?"

"Not one that I can honestly tell you about."

April accepts that with a nod, "Well, I still want to apologize." She reaches into her open window and grabs something off a small table nearby. A mug appears before Ryu, steaming with hot chocolate; she can smell it. "Maybe this will help you feel better."

"Is that real?" Ryu asks, sitting up to gaze down in disbelief into the cup.

"Yeah, why?"

"I haven't had hot chocolate in…forever!"

April places the mug into her hands and Ryu drinks in up quickly.

"Yum! That was heaven in a glass! I've never had any like that before. What's in it?"

"Truth serum," April replies.

Ryu throws her a look, "That doesn't exist…" After a long pause and a last gulp of the drink she finishes, "Yet."

"Can't hurt to try, right?"

"I admire your determination," Ryu nods. "And you don't need to apologize. I was in the wrong too for snapping at you the way I did."

"But because you did, it made me think. And you were right; they didn't do it on purpose. The turtles wouldn't have done that to me."

"Especially not Donnie," Ryu adds. Donnie would thank her for this later.

April pauses, dropping her head until her bangs hide away her expression, "Y-yeah."

The air suddenly becomes heavy with awkwardness, forcing Ryu to her feet, "Well, I'm glad to know you all are friends again. My work is done."

"Wait," April stops her right before she can crawl up the ladder to the roof, "Why does it sound like you're not friends with the turtles? Aren't you?"

Splinter's warning comes crashing back down on Ryu: " _Then you will stay away from my sons. I do not want your actions to influence them_."

She licks her lips nervously. After a long moment she answers, "I don't really have a choice in that matter." With that, she scampers up the ladder and makes it to the edge of the roof on the other side before April can finally answer.

"You always have a choice, Ryu!"

 _Not anymore I don't_ , Ryu replies in her mind. She pushes herself harder than before she'd began her nightly run tonight, pumping her legs with each sprint, forcing more energy into each jump. By the time another hour is up, her lungs are pumping faster than they normally would by that time.

As she come leaping over to the next building, the toe of her boot nicks something hard and she loses her balance for a split second. Ryu's feet skid clumsily on the roof top as she glares back at whatever she hit.

Her breath stops in her throat. "Oh no…" Ryu chokes, "Donnie!"

The tall turtle lies passed out against the ledge of the building, mask gone, body beaten up badly. He's breathing weakly, but it's enough to ease her worry a little bit. Crouching next to him, Ryu checks his pulse on his neck to see if it's normal and then takes his face into her shaking hands.

"Donnie? Donnie, come on. Wake up, please," she urges frantically. She gently taps the side of his cheek that isn't swollen, wishing she had some water on her to clean his face up a bit. "Donnie, please. You've got to wake up. Come on!"

He stirs, mumbling something under his breath.

"What?" She leans in closer to his mouth, turning her ear towards him to hear better.

He mumbles again, this time a bit clearer, "Bi…er…uy…"

"I can't understand you, Don," Ryu tells him.

"Bigger…guy…"

"Bigger guy…?" Ryu blinks in confusion, sitting up to glance down at him. "What are you-?"

That's when it clicks and Ryu jumps to her feet, eyes scanning around the building tops for something to move. Bigger guy. Meaning someone else is up here. Someone bigger, stronger. Someone who is now a threat.

She's not about to stand here, it's not a good place to defend. _Find higher ground, somewhere where Donnie can rest safely,_ Ryu chants to herself, recalling all her lessons from the other students who taught her back at the sanctuary. Ryu leans back down and carefully grabs Donnie by the uninjured arm.

"We've got to move, Donnie. We're not safe here. Can you stand?" She helps him to his feet, surprised by his weight, but pulls him over to lean against her side as she wraps his arm around her neck to help him walk.

"He…bigger…"

"I know, Don. I heard you," Ryu answers his mumbles as she continues to scan the rooftops.

"Like Raph…but not…as ugly," Donnie tries to chuckle.

Ryu bites back a grin, refusing to look at him in the face. Approaching footstep surprise her and Raph comes racing towards them with Mikey on his heels. "Donnie! What happened?!"

"Bigger guy, like you, not as ugly," Ryu shrugs, forcing back a grin as Raph take his brother from her, "That's all I got." Raph glares at her as he lowers his brother back down to the ground, but she ignores him and faces Mikey, "Go keep watch. Raph, you'll need to do something about his arm before we move him too much. It could be broken, but I'm not sure."

With that, Ryu jogs a little ways off to stand on the edge of the roof and keep a look out. Mikey does the same on the opposite side, looking like a small cartoon drawing in the background of a painting.

Pacing, she keeps her ears focused in on Raph and Donnie half way between them as they chat away. Raph's voice is tight with worry for his brother, something Ryu has never before imagined she'd ever hear from him, as he works to wrap up Donnie's arm.

"It was Spike," Raph explains.

"Spike? That was Spike?"

"Yeah," Raph admits, "He got into the mutagen; calls himself Slash now."

"Wow, way to keep it safe, Raph," Donnie responds sarcastically.

Ryu's concentration takes a side-track for a second. Just what is this mutagen? Why is it almost everywhere she goes? Why is it such a center point in all this mayhem?

"AGH!"

She spins on her heel, eyes darting around the roof for the source of the scream, and she's met with an empty scene. _Oh, no! Mikey!_

"Raph, Mikey's gone!" Ryu yells as she races by to the other side of the roof. She skids to a stop and zips her gaze around on the street below; it's just as empty. Her breath is coming fast in her chest, frantic with worry. "Mikey? Mikey?!"

Her voice echoes through the night, bouncing off the buildings around her in a panic. "MIKEY!"

A hand grabs her shoulder strictly and turns her around, "Calm down. We'll find him."

Ryu doesn't register a word Raph says, her thoughts are too busy spinning in her thoughts; memories start overwhelming her. Flashes of the deaths slam into her mind severely like quick jabs of lightning-painful, but continuous in their assaults.

"No," She begins mumbling to herself, wide eyes dropping to her feet, "Splinter was right."

"What?" Raph demands.

A groan of pain catches their attention and they both flash into action, racing off to find the source. Mikey is hanging off the side of the buildings, tied up and bruised badly from a terrible beating similar to the one Donnie was forced through. Ryu drops to her knees, Raph following close behind, and they both haul Mikey back to the roof where she places his head onto her lap. His orange mask is gone, baring his face to the bruises and cuts.

"No, no, no, no!" Raph starts screaming, grabbing his head and pacing back and forth in a panic. Ryu watches him closely as she strokes Mikey's head; she's never seen him so out of character before. It's not like him. He's usually so calm and cocky that it's always made her sick, but now she's not sure what to think. Seeing his feet stumble, his eyes squeezed shut in frustration, hands balled into fists shaking by the sides of his head; Ryu's chest tightens.

"Raph," She calls up to him. He keeps pacing. "Raph?" Ryu repeats and he finally stops. "Look at me."

Raph turns his glare from his feet to meet her gaze; green to amber.

"He's fine, Raph," Ryu smiles up at him, reaching over to touch his fist. His hand responds after a long second, opening his stiff fingers; they're still shaking in anger. Ryu takes his hand, surprised by how large his hand feels despite only having two fingers and a thumb. "He's okay."

"I should've been watching," Raph growls through his teeth, "This is all my fault."

"You couldn't have seen this coming," she tells him. "This happened too fast for any of us to do anything. It's fine."

"It's not!" Raph jerks his hand away from her grasp sharply. "I'm the one who told Spike that I was sick of dealing with my brothers. I'm the one who left the mutagen ditched in my room with him. It's all my fault."

"It isn't your fault!" Ryu argues back.

"That's right, Raph," A new voice cuts in. They both turn to look across the roof where a larger turtle, his shell covered in menacing spikes, comes stalking out of the dark shadows like something from a horror movie. "It wouldn't be your fault if you didn't have brothers. Just get rid of them and you and I can take care of this city. We don't need them."

"Shut up!" Raph snarls. "You're not Spike. That mutagen warped your brain. Anyone who hurts my brothers isn't my friend." He flies forward and their fight begins, mostly Spike beating up on Raph's smaller form, but Raph doesn't stop fighting. He keeps throwing himself into the fight to keep Spike from advancing on Ryu and Mikey, but all at the cost of taking continuous hits from the larger turtle.

Ryu watches on in panic, glancing down at Mikey's passed out form lying on her lap. _I've got to get him to safety so I can help_ , Ryu thinks. She carefully gets to her feet, taking Mikey under the arms and drags him gently over to where they had Donnie hidden out of view. Donnie is awake when she drags him around the corner.

"What happened to Mikey?" He asks, his arm now bound up behind his head.

"Spike," Ryu grunts one last time before setting Mikey up against the wall beside his other brother. With that, she runs back out to help in the fight only to be slammed in the chest by a thick arm and thrown back into a billboard sign glowing nearby. The metal thrums and the song zips through her body as her bone scream in pain. A scream breaks out of her as she crumbles to the ground, body numb and shaking from shock. Ryu blinks through her blurry vision and notices the edges of her vision are starting to go black, turning her eyesight to something like looking through a tunnel.

 _No, no, no! Please, not here!_ She's not sure how long she stays frozen there, focusing on her breath to re-center herself before her power takes over her but when her sight begins to return to normal, Donnie is tapping her shoulder with Mikey calling her name.

"R…u…Ryu…Ryu, come on? You okay?" Donnie asks.

She moves her head slowly, making sure nothing is damaged, before sitting up just as slowly and rubs the back of her neck. "Ow."

"Yeah, you got thrown into the billboard pretty hard," Mikey points out.

"Where's Raph?" Ryu asks, looking around.

"He and Slash took off. They're still fighting. It's not looking good," Donnie gazes out over the dark rooftops, trying to find out where his brother had disappeared too. Ryu can hear the blunt worry in his voice and she suddenly regrets all those times she'd yelled at Raph for not caring about his brothers. It's clear now that he really does adore his brothers; he just shows it differently than she's ever seen it before.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Donnie turns his eyes sharply back to Ryu as she struggles to stand up on her wobbly legs.

"I'm sorry," Ryu repeats.

"For what?" Mikey asks, helping her up by her arm.

"For everything," She pulls free from him and takes off, jumping over the gap between the two buildings and landing on the next roof. She pushes her power into the concrete of each building, searching for any vibrations, any indications that Slash and Raph are near. A song returns to her and she centers in on it and follows the quakes to their position and nearly runs right into Leo on the same course.

"Whoa!"

She skids to a stop and smiles, "Hi?"

"Wow, what happened to you?" Leo asks, pointing to her scratched up arm. She glances down at it and just decides to shrug. "Well, get Donnie to look at it and hold this."

He tosses a canister of the glowing green goo into her arms and then keeps running. Around the corner, he joins the fight with Raph against Slash only to keep getting beat back. He and Raph are already showing signs of fatigue. If they keep this up, they'll be in the same position as Donnie and Mikey.

" _Then you will stay away from my sons. I do not want your actions to influence them_."

Splinter's voice replays in her head again, sending a sliver of cold down her spine. Should she even be here? Should she even be holding this? Her gaze drops to the canister of mutagen in her hands just as Donnie and Mikey catch up and stop at her side.

"Donnie," Mikey whispers, "Why does it look like she's about to do something crazy?"

"Because I am," Ryu answers for him, pulling her eyes up to glare over at the fight with new determination. If Splinter doesn't want her around the turtles, that's fine. But he never said she couldn't help them. "Hey, Slash!"

Ryu hops up on the ledge surrounding the edge of the building and holds up the glowing mutagen above her head just as the giant turtle turns to face her. He reaches back without looking to knock Leo away who tries to attack him from behind.

"This is all that's left," she grins, shaking the canister above her.

"I can get more," Slash chuckles.

"Not like this, you can't," Ryu shoots back, "I've just made it a bit stronger; it'll make you ten times tougher than what you are now."

Slash takes a step towards her and her grin widens, "What makes you think I'd want to be stronger? I can take you down easily."

"Wouldn't you rather take us _all_ down at once?" Ryu raises an eyebrow.

Slash scoffs, but eyes the mutagen curiously, "Why don't you hand it over and we'll see just how right you are?"

"Why don't you come take it from me?"

"Fine!" He barrels towards her and Ryu takes off over the rooftops all over again. Slash keeps up rather well for being so big, but she ducks under pipes and water tanks and billboards to throw him off course and give her enough time to get a few paces ahead.

 _Just as long as I stay ahead of him_ , Ryu thinks, _Then again, I didn't really think about what to do after I got his attention…Nice, Ryu. Real nice._

She glances back to see where he is and finds no one there. Startled, she turns back forward and yelps. Her boots skid across the roof and stop her just inches from the edge of the roof. Below her is a wide street; too wide for her to jump successfully and too far below for her to jump down to without breaking something. Ryu turns to go to her right and something heavy and big slams into the ledge behind her, splitting and crushing it into a hundred pieces. The same thing happens when she tries to go the opposite way and she faces Slash as he grins down at her and props his weapon back over his shoulder.

"Nowhere to go, sweetheart," Slash snickers with a glare. Ryu taps her heel on the roof behind her, listening to the earth's song, letting her power soak it up. She raises her hands over her head, dropping down to one knee, and the earth moves to her will. With a loud roar the roof opens up and groans as it covers up over her in a protective dome of solid concrete. Slash yells and bashes his weapon down onto the top of the dome; the earth moans with each strike. "Quite hiding like a coward!"

Inside the dome, Ryu quickly sets the canister of mutagen on the ground beside her knee and then presses her palms against the top of the dome above her, forging her power into the earth and strengthening it as much as she can, but with each bash of his weapon on the other side of the one foot thick dome she can feel a bit more of her power being soaked up into the concrete in order to hold it steady.

 _I can't keep this up for long_ , Ryu thinks before glancing briefly at the ground under her, _I could tunnel down, come out into someone's apartment, but how on earth would I explain that?_

She had always been taught that strict conduct is to be taken with each battle; do **not** let the public eye know of your existence.

Ryu pulls her eyes up from the ground and glares up at the dome, _Not an option then, time for a new plan._

"You know what, Ryu?" His voice carries in through the concrete to her and she blinks in surprise; how'd he know her name? "I know all about you," Slash continues as he continues his assault on her dome, "Raph talks nonstop about you. From what I've heard from him, you're always taking the easy way out of battles. Always dragging everyone into your fights; guess you can't do things for yourself. I don't know why Raph holds you so high in his thoughts. You're weak!"

Ryu's skin starts to burn and her heart beat rises with her anger. With so little power left, draining her physical strength to practically nothing now, her body is left vulnerable to the change. Her jaw locks as her eyesight starts to convert to the black tunnel vision.

 _So little control_ , Ryu thinks, _I can't keep it contained much longer like this! Please not now!_

Slash brings his weapon down again with a loud bang and the concrete splits with a deafening crack and her eyes widen in alarm. The large crack travels in all directions like a spider web, threatening to fall open and leave her open to attack, but Ryu pushes another wave of her power into the dome to hold it together. Her body reacts almost instantly, her legs beginning to shake terribly along with her arms and her shoulders slumping forward weakly.

A sharp burning pain flashes out across her left shoulder and Ryu jerks her eyes over to it in panic. Her skin is starting to blister from the heat gathering under her flesh, smoke rising from the warmth gathering there. Any minute now and her thin skin would burst open and-.

"Back off!"

"Get away!"

Both Donnie and Mikey, despite their injuries leap up and latch onto Slash's arm to stop his attacks on the dome, but they are easily thrown to the side. Leo and Raph race in right under Slash's attack and hit him at the same time against his chest. The bigger turtle stumbles back but not enough to miss the next attack the brothers throw at him. He swings his weapon, forcing Raph and Leo to back away, and then turns back to Ryu who has been forced to drop her earth dome that now sits crumpled all around her like puzzle pieces.

"Hand over that mutagen!" He orders, raising his weapon above his head and bringing it down at her lowered head.

In a flash, the girl moves. Her forearm is just suddenly there, meeting the handle of his weapon with a shuddering thud; as if he'd just hit a surface as hard as concrete.

"What the-?" Slash starts to say but then the wind blows and Ryu's white hair is brushed away from her face and he gasps. Both of her eyes are glowing, a pink-purple radiance that is beyond unearthly as it seeps in from the corners of her eyes slowly towards her irises. Even the pupils are dilated to the size of a needle head. "What the heck?!"

He swings his weapon, she ducks in a flash, but he uses that distraction to grab hold of her braid and lift her into the air, her feet flailing out into the air as she screams out in pain.

"Let her go!" Something rams into Slash from the side and Ryu is dropped a moment later heavily onto the roof. There's a few more seconds of struggle and then someone screams out Slash's name.

Ryu can't get past the spinning her head. Her body is still pounding, swaying as a weightless feeling comes over her. She sits up onto her feet and grabs her head to balance it as best as she can.

"Where is he?"

"He disappeared," Leo answers Raph as they both stare over the side of the roof.

Donnie drops down next to Ryu and grabs her shoulder gently with his good arm, "Are you okay?"

Leo comes to her side next, "Hey, Ryu, why were your eyes glowing like that?"

"They're what?!" Ryu asks in alarm, jerking her gaze up to meet his.

Leo jumps back a little, but shakes his head. A second later he's blinking in confusion, "Wait, your eyes are two different colors?"

"What?" Raph spins around from his place by the edge of the roof.

"I suspected as much," Donnie scratches his chin and leans over to get a better view of Ryu's eyes. "You're blind…aren't you?"

Ryu bows her head so that her bangs hide her eyes away, breathing heavily, "It happened a long time ago. It was an accident."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	10. Chapter 9: 2-8 The Good, Bad, and Casey

_Yikes! Everyone, I am SOOOO sorry. These last two updates were sent to me via Katt B. and email, but I didn't receive them until this morning._

 _Apparently, she's been trying to get them to me because her computer has been screwed up and obviously her computer didn't allow them to be uploaded to Katt's email either. So now that I've got them, I now present them to you fresh from Katt's imagination and chewed through my editing blender._

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _Also, I've done the reference page for Ryu and am currently finishing up the two newer characters that will be appearing in the second part of this story so please look forward to that. And check out Ryu's finished profile page when you get the chance too, so you can be better acquainted with her._

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 _[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]_

 _If you can figure that out, you're a mastermind. :D_

 ** _Review_ _Please!_**

- _Ravyne_

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _9_**

 ** _2-8: "The Good, The Bad, and The Casey Jones"_**

"Bye, thanks again," Ryu calls as she closes the door to the shop and locks it. Pressing her back against it and slouching, she sighs in relief as she stares across the room at the clock hanging on the far wall.

Three thirty.

This is the fourth time she's had to close the shop early this week. "Keep going like this and I'll be broke before the month is up," Ryu rolls her eyes and heads out the side door to the junkyard. Once down in her base underground, the room lights up and comes alive as she steps onto the floor. The computers power up, chiming out new messages for her to read and updates for her to check.

She checks her messages first, knowing full and well that ever since she'd patched it into her phone, the messages would surely be from either the turtles or…

"April," Ryu smiles, reading the first notification before digging around behind her desktop to search for her silent phone. For the last few days, she's closed down the shop early in order to practice her meditation and tai chi, trying desperately to get her power back up to capacity and re-center her body. She's disregarded the mess piling up in her base, ignored her phone, and struggled to keep from thinking about anything stressful. Her power has been pretty touchy since the attack from Slash; she hadn't been that close to changing in a long time; months even. Lately even small things were setting her off.

Like a tiny nail wouldn't come out of a customer's tire yesterday and she ended up lifting two of her huge, red tool boxes off the floor in her frustration when normally there wouldn't be any effect with an annoyance so small.

Ryu opens the message on her phone and reads it: **Are you free this evening?**

Raising a curious eyebrow, Ryu text her back: **Sure, why?**

She goes to check her updates while she waits for April to respond and has her computers go ahead and download the changes. Her phone buzzes a few moments later: **Just thought we could talk. Donnie and Raph told me what happened with Spike. Are you okay?**

Ryu sends her reply: **Yeah, I'm fine. My head's still a little sore.**

She types back: **Well, I have the perfect solution for you?**

Ryu's worry sky-rockets.

* * *

She barely has time to jump down on the balcony before April is pulling her inside the room beyond the window. "When was the last time you went shopping?"

Ryu steadies her feet on the floor before she can fall over, looks down at the hoody and cargo pants she wears, and shrugs.

April gives her a once over and then grins, "I got the perfect thing."

"For what? Ow!"

April grabs her by the arm and shoves her into a nearby walk-in closet before throwing a bag into her arms. "Try those on," The girl orders as she shuts the door on Ryu, leaving the poor girl standing there lost in confusion. She finally just gives up on understanding the red-head and looks into the bag. Clothes.

 _Oh, great. Shanghai-ed into a dress up trap_ , Ryu groans. Reluctantly, she pulls off the short black wig and glasses before slipping the red shirt over her head and pulling on the light blue jeans. Stepping out, she glares at April who sits on the bed excitedly.

"So?" She asks with a grin.

Ryu just glares at her, "I hate red."

April's smile falls almost instantly, "Oh, no."

"What?"

"You hate red."

"We just established this."

April chews her bottom lip nervously.

"What?" Ryu pushes.

"No, nothing…uh…try this on then," She reaches over the footboard to dig through another bag on the floor and pulls out a green shirt. Ryu catches it mid-air when the red-head throws it at her.

Stepping inside the closet once more, Ryu closes the door and sighs as she stares down at the soft, cotton fabric of the green shirt. _Thankfully something I like at least._

As she turns to pull the red shirt off, she catches her reflection in the full length mirror on the back of the door. The red shirt is a V-neck, showing off the tops of her shoulders and neck, and hugs her form softly in cotton fabric. She couldn't wear this anywhere anyway…no matter how good it looks on her.

 _Maybe my skin has a few hidden red tones in it…_ She stares down at her arm and shakes her head. _Nah!_

She removes the red shirt and slips on the green one, another V-neck that doesn't sit so wide on her shoulders but ties off in a bow at her hip and sends ribbons of satin down to about her mid-thigh. The sleeves cover her arms to her elbows where the hem is trimmed in matching satin to decorate it. She turns around to see herself from all angles and smiles. It's been way too long since she's had a simple girl moment.

But then…when has she ever had a simple girl moment?

"Do you like the green one better?"

Ryu pops out of her dark thoughts and shakes herself before stepping out.

April nods in approval, "Green is definitely your color. Ironic seeing the friends you have. It looks nice."

"Yeah," Ryu agrees, staring down at herself.

"So this is your late or early birthday present from me."

Ryu looks up at her, "What?"

"Well, I don't know when your birthday is so I figured…" April trails off with a shrug. "I'm just glad to finally have another girl in the group."

Ryu returns her smile, secretly glad to have someone to talk to as well. Then she remembers something April said a moment ago, "So what's all this about red?"

Again, April's smile falls.

"Yeah, now I know something is up," Ryu grins and crosses her arms, "What's going on?"

"Uh…" April starts but then her phone starts to ring. "Wow, saved by the bell."

Ryu rolls her eyes and starts to wrap her cargos and hoodie up to slip them into the empty bag before fixing her hair back to pull on the black wig and glasses.

"Why do you wear that wig?"

She pauses in the middle of tucking away a few white strands and stares at the red-head, "I get weird looks from people if I don't wear it."

"But a lot of people dye their hair now a days, so what's the big deal?"

Ryu removes the wig to let her white braid fall out over her right shoulder, "Have you ever seen hair, _this_ white before?"

April takes a step towards her and takes Ryu's braid into her hands, brushing her fingers over the strands. "Hmm…I don't think so, no, but…I still think you should show it off. It's pretty."

Ryu stops cold as she starts wrapping it up again and lets the word roll around in her head. Maybe she should just wear it out. What could it hurt? When has she ever cared what people thought about her? _Well, I've lived on a mountain most of my life with other weirdos like me. Who was there to judge me?_ , Ryu tells herself as she finishes pulling on her wig and slipping on the black rimmed glasses.

April tucks her phone back into her pocket, "That was my friend. I'm going to go meet up with him; he still needs a tutor. Are you going to go see the turtles tonight?"

Ryu stops again and forces out a smile, "No, I've got to get home. Got some work to catch up on."

"School work?"

She shakes her head, "I graduated when I was thirteen."

"From high school?!" April gawks.

"Yeah."

"What about college?"

"Last year."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Ryu just shrugs. It had never been a big deal to her, "I had a lot of free time when I was younger."

April just stares at her with her jaw gapping like a fish.

"What?"

"Nothing…Just…wow."

"It's no big deal."

"Right," April mumbles, "No big deal, she says."

She says her goodbyes, thanking her for the clothes, and then Ryu takes to the roof tops once more. The second she's back home, her phone is buzzing again and she pulls it out of her side pocket.

The screen flashes 'new message' and she opens it, her eyes widening in surprise. It's from Raph: **Just checking in.**

 _What?!_ , Ryu yells in her mind.

* * *

Raph drops his phone, slapping the heel of his hand against his forehead, "What the heck is wrong with me?"

The phone hits the roof with a clatter that echoes into the night around him and he stares down at it, the screen still open to the message he had sent: **Just checking in.**

What on earth had possessed him to send that?! Raph picks up the phone and blinks down at the message. "How could I not come up with something cooler than that?" He groans.

The screen blinks and chimes, a new message coming in. His breath stops as he opens it: **I'm good. Thank you. How are you? Sorry about Spike. Donnie told me about him.**

Raph's thoughts go blank. She's worried about him? His memories of Spike coming floating back, they have been plaguing him since the incident, but he's had the chance to finally soak them in and accept them. Spike is still alive. That means he has time to get through to him, no matter what the mutagen has done to his mind.

Raph sends a quick reply before standing up and heading for home.

* * *

Back in her base, Ryu is just lying down to go to sleep when her phone buzzes one last time. She opens the message and reads: **Fine. I'll handle Spike. He's not bad. I know he's not. See you.**

 _See you…_ Ryu sets the phone down on her chest to stare up at the roof of her base. The hammock still sways gently, lulling her to sleep, but she fights it as long as she can. How can someone so rude and harsh send such words as these? _Why would he even want to see me? I'm supposed to stay away from them now, so I'm going to have to._

Ryu rolls over with a sigh to face the corner. Thinking back to Splinter's warning to her, she closes her eyes and tucks her phone close to her chest where Raph's last message still blinks on the screen.

 _I'll see them_ , She thinks, _But they won't see me._

* * *

The next night, Ryu sets out across the street, dressed in the new outfit that April had given her, and blinks through the wind that swirls the strands of the black wig on her head. The roof tops wouldn't be her highway tonight, but she sure does miss it already.

The jeans hug her legs snugly and she has them tucked into her uniform boots, the clasps on the green belts clicking together as she walks. The green shirt, with its satin ribbon, thankfully covers up most of her marks, making them less noticeable to the passerby's that may happen to wander by this late at night. Personally, not even she knows why she's even out. She'd originally come to order take out from the noodle place she'd met April at, but after that, she really didn't have any plans.

So then, why is she even walking around now? Ryu sighs. There's no reason to even ask her that question; she knows why she's out here. Deep down, she's hoping that she'll see them, or at least their shadows, passing by above her.

It feels like it's been way too long since she'd last talked to them.

As if on cue, a very familiar angry voice floats on the wind to her ears and her eyes jolt up to scan the rooftops around her. Across the street from her, she can just make out the silhouette of something slipping down the fire escape, the moonlight kissing the edges of a red mask. A slow smile touches her mouth.

She checks for cars before skipping across the street, but falters a few paces from the sidewalk when she spots a guy in a black sweatshirt peeking into the alleyway that Raph had disappeared into. A hockey mask dons his face, hiding away his identity, while hockey sticks hang across his back.

 _Gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this guy is a hockey fan_ , Ryu raises an eyebrow at the skinny guy's outfit speckled with paint from obviously too much graffiti work. A second later, he steps into the shadows of the alleyway, giving her the chance to sneak up to the corner and watch him climb down into the man hole and down into the sewers. _Uh-oh, this should be interesting._

She follows after them quietly, sticking to the shadows, until she arrives at the turtles' lair and stops at the corner. She spots the guy in black ducked behind the powerless turnstiles that stand between him and the steps. The cold air of the sewer tunnels brushes across her arms, giving her goosebumps to join in on her excitement.

Inside, Raph is just sitting down on the couch next to his younger brother and they all return to watching some cartoons on the screen. Ryu strains her eyes, squinting around the corner to try and figure out what they're watching, and is met with an overwhelming urge to laugh. Who knew these tough ninjas watched such childish shows?

 _I'll have to get them some real shows to watch_ , she thinks, but then jerks back the thought to correct herself. No, she wouldn't bring them new shows. She's to avoid them; remove herself as an influence. She owed Splinter that much.

A metal fork is knocked over off the piles of pizza boxes where the guy in black is hiding and it's like a bomb explodes.

"An intruder!" Donnie exclaims.

"You? Again?!" Raph leaps over the back of the couch and barrels across the room in a flash. The guy in black tries to attack first but he's caught and held still by Donnie and Mikey. Ryu ducks back farther into the shadows to keep from being seen as the rest of his brothers join him and drag the guy back into the lair.

Voices are raised, a struggle is made, but then a voice cuts through them all.

"Casey?"

Ryu blinks again in surprise as April's voice echoes around the corner to her. She takes a step forward and dares to peek out again. Sure enough, the red head and Splinter come walking up to get a better view on the situation. It's when Splinter explains that he named the turtles after his favorite artists that Casey finally faints.

 _What a girl_ , Ryu shakes her head.

April helps get Casey awake from the floor, cooling his face a few times with her fan, but then she grabs her head suddenly as if in pain. Ryu narrows her eyes suspiciously; what's that all about?

"Guys, we're not alone," April says ominously as she looks up towards the roof of the lair. A Footbot leaps in from above and whirls that annoying Kraang noise before a whole horde of Footbots pour in from the tunnel opposite from where Ryu hides.

Her eyes widen in alarm, _Run, Ryu. You said you'd stay away. You promised. Stay on the sidelines._

With that, she takes off, assured that the turtles could handle themselves, and races off into the darkness of the sewers. It's not until her feet are the only sounds that she can hear that Ryu finally comes to a jogging stop. She props her hand on the wall and leans over from her waist. The subway tunnels are silent, calm. Nothing moves here.

Through her connection with the earth, she can feel the train approaching from behind, but it's a ways off. Maybe if she times it right, she can hop on the back and get a free ride home.

 _Dang it, Ryu! Get your head together. What is wrong with you?!_ She stands up and pulls the glasses from her face to rub her eyes. _Since when have you ever run from a fight? Well, at least one you could handle? You're a Dragon follower; your job is to aid people. Protect them._ Dropping her hand, she stares out into the darkness in front of her, the hum of the approaching train vibrating through the earth under her boots. _Because I'm weak, that's why_ , she answers herself, _I always listen to people instead of doing what I want. Instead of doing what my head says; what my heart says._

"Ugh!" Ryu face-palms herself and collapses onto the ground, putting her back against the cold cement wall. "Boy, oh boy, oh boy…I really need a vacation. When did this mission turn into this? _Why_ did this mission turn into this?"

A memory flashes across her mind. Raph's hands lifting her by the waist and helping her to the ground off the dumpster. Her head jerks up in disbelief and then she's on her feet walking urgently towards the exit.

"Because you let it, you moron!" She growls at herself.

"Faster, man, move your shell!"

Ryu ducks down close against the wall and turns to stone just as a Footbot zips by lower down on the tracks. A few seconds later, Raph and the guy in black do the same with so much noise it's laughable. With such low light, and with the dark colors she's wearing, Ryu is thankful they don't see her. Not that Raph would recognize her anyway in this outfit.

 _Not like it matters_ , Ryu thinks as she targets the disappearing Footbot with her eyes, _If that bot escapes it's over for them._

Now she has no choice but to help and she's more than happy to. A lightness overcomes her as she races off after them; the eagerness to follow the Dragon's lessons making her uber energetic all of a sudden.

The subway train irrevocably catches up to her and Ryu picks her pace up a bit to match her timing before grabbing ahold of the machine with her power and swinging herself up off the ground to grab the door handle on the back of the train. Why waste her energy running when she can just let the machine do all the work?

As they pass the main entrance, Ryu jumps off and forges her power into the rail road tracks to keep her from hitting the ground. She stops mid-air before setting her feet down and following after Raph and the guy in black as they race off after the Footbot trying to escape. A few times, she loses sight of them, but she's able to follow all their noise and catch up with them right outside the main steps leading to the street.

"It's going for the street!" The guy in black exclaims as Raph takes to the steps. As Ryu turns the corner, Raph is just sling-shooting the guy up the stairway to grab the robot.

Her eyes widen as everything seems to slow. It's not going to work! The robot is too far ahead! She rips off her arm warmer, revealing her metal bracelet to the air around her and flicks her wrist to turn it on. It whirls to life as she swings her arm and the bracelet shoots out a metal line faster than lightning and it whips over the guy's head, entangling around the Footbot's neck.

"What the…?" The guy in black fumbles.

Ryu jerks the line and heaves the Footbot back down the stairs over her head where it slams into a concrete pillar before sliding down to the floor. Something wizzes by her head so close that the black wig stirs around her face and Raph's sai strikes the bot square in the chest.

She flicks her wrist and the metal line begins to zip back up into the bracelet with another whirl. "Cuttin' it close enough, Raph?" Ryu growls at him before turning towards the fallen robot.

Raph doesn't answer, just staring at the girl with a deeply confused expression.

"Who the heck is the 'Irma-look-alike'?" The guy in black asks. Ryu pulls off the glasses and black wig, shaking out her braid, and discards the disguise onto the floor by the Footbot's feet. "Whoa, I meant, who's the 'hottie'?"

Ryu turns to glare back at the guy's comment, but ultimately ignores him to pull Raph's sai out and use it to carve open the Footbot's face and chest to expose the robots inside tech. Her eyes widen excitedly; it's been a while since she's been able to steal anything from the Kraang.

Raph steps up to her side, "Where have you been? And what's with the costume?"

Ryu doesn't look up as she flips his sai in her hand and returns it to him handle first, "Kind of hard to go anywhere with hair and eyes like mine. Best to keep a low profile. I'm sure you can understand that."

Raph takes the sai and stares down at it in his palm. The handle is warm, no doubt from his own palm, but for some reason he only feels her warmth from it even though she only held it for a moment. Why does that bother him so much? Shaking his head, he holsters it and crosses his arms angrily, "Well, you could've checked in at least. Mikey's been worried about you. I mean, last time we saw you, you'd just been beaten up by Spike. You could barely stand."

"We all took a beating from that guy last time I checked," Ryu replies, keeping her tone blank.

"Yeah…well," Raph hesitates, trying to find the right words, but Ryu finishes pulling out the last of the tech she needs and stands up to face him with a smile that makes goosebumps leap out over his skin.

"Raph, I'm fine. I got up this morning with no problem at all, so there's no doubt I'm fully cured. As long as you guys are fine. Everyone heal up okay?"

Raph turns his eyes away and shrugs, "Yeah, why wouldn't we?"

Ryu rolls her eyes and mumbles something under her breath as she turns to pick up her glasses and wig.

"Hello?"

They both turn to the guy in black and give him question mark looks.

"You know this babe?" He asks Raph.

The word hits Ryu hard and it suddenly spikes her anger. She kicks her heel subtly into the floor and the earth lifts to knock him away a few feet. She follows his slide with a glare.

"If you plan on training this kid, I suggest you start to work on that mouth first. He could use some lessons in manners," She suggests as she takes a step around Raph and heads for the stairway.

"Wait," Raph calls.

"Yeah," The guy in black cuts him off as he comes back over to wrap an arm around Raph's shoulders with a cocky grin, "Casey Jones will be happy to give you some love lessons if you'd like."

Grinding her teeth, Ryu spins, building up strength in her arm to slam her fist into the rude guy's face, maybe knock a few more teeth out of that sorry head of his, but he's already flying back across the floor.

"Shut up, Jones!" Raph snaps, knocking his own fist into the guy's chest. "Don't ever say something like that again!"

Ryu's eyes widen in astonishment, blinking at Raph's angered expression before her. Why would he say something like that? She knows he has a short temper and all, but this is something entirely different. Something she's never expected from him. This is defense.

Casey Jones sits up and rubs his chest, "I was just trying to be nice."

Raph and Ryu both glare down at him. "Yeah, definitely start with his manners," she shakes her head.

"Got it," Raph answers. He offers a hand down to help Casey up to his feet and Ryu decides that this would be a good time to leave. Anymore time around him and she'd be hearing from Splinter for sure. She busies her hands with putting her wig and glasses back on as she takes to the stairs, glad to be back under the starry night sky. Looking up at the diamonds twinkling above her, Ryu starts to feel a little homesick.

Back in the village, they'd see way more stars than this; billions of them. Even the milky way would make an appearance for them many times. She sighs. Maybe when she returns, she could come back here to visit…maybe then she could just come here as herself and not be busy with a mission.

 _Which I need to get back on_ , Ryu thinks, remembering the machine that has been sitting dormant for the last week in her base; she hasn't worked on it in too long of a time. She raises her hands and looks over the new tech in her hands. Surely she'll be able to use this for something.

"Ryu!"

Whirling out of her thoughts, she spins on her heel to find Raph running up, grabbing her by the hand and pulling her into the shadows of the alleyway to avoid being seen by passers. As they come to a stop, she stumbles into him and he stops her from falling over. It's brought her too close to him.

She back up quickly, tucking the black hair behind her ear.

"Why have you been avoiding us?" He suddenly asks.

Ryu blinks, unable to meet his gaze. For such a stubborn person, he sure is perceptive. Ryu takes a deep breath and releases it, admitting, "Splinter's orders. He told me to stay away from you…all of you."

Raph's eyes narrow behind his red mask, "What? Why?"

Ryu turns to step out of the alleyway and back into the moonlight, but not before throwing him the best practiced smile she can. There's no way she can let him see her disappointment, "Because we both agree on something: I'm a bad influence."

With that, Ryu races off down the street before he can say a word, her chest tightening painfully under her shirt.

* * *

"Master Splinter," Raph calls, stepping up behind his sensei hesitantly.

Splinter turns to his son and folds his hands behind his back, "Yes, my son."

"I…want to talk to you. I have to ask you something."

Splinter watches his second oldest scratch the back of his head, a motion he often does when he's nervous, but nods all the same. He leads them into the dojo where they could have some quiet while they talk. "What is it you wish to discuss, Raphael?"

"Ryu, sensei."

The name makes Splinter stop cold in his tracks right in front of the shelves on the wall where pictures of his lost family sit silently. His expression turns stern, "What of her?"

Raph swallows, hearing the deeper tone in his master's voice. That always means that he's getting angry. That means he's not liking the subject. That means that Raph is about to cross a line.

But he just has to know. He has to understand. He has to figure out why he's so… _No, stop it, Raph, you're crazy_ , he tells himself. With another centering breath, Raph straightens his back and takes a step across that line, "Why do we have to stay away from her?"

Splinter slams his emerald staff into the dojo floor sharply as he turns to face his son, "She was here."

Raph raises an eyebrow, "You knew?"

"I sensed someone else here, right after April introduced Casey."

"But those could've been the Footbots," Raph points out.

Splinter narrows his eyes hard at his son, "You defend her."

Raph drops his gaze reluctantly, "I…I just want to understand, sensei. We've all told you how many times she's helped us against the Kraang and even Karai. She's…I…" Raph sighs and meets Splinter's gaze bravely, "She's our friend, sensei."

Splinter opens his mouth to rebuke his son's belief, but April and the other turtles come in.

"He's right, master Splinter," April tells him, pleading with him to understand with her eyes.

"She has helped us. She saved Mikey when he went after the centrifuge," Donnie points out.

"She helped us against the Nuetralizer," Mikey adds.

"She saved me from Karai," Leo includes.

"She helped me to see past my anger at you guys," April speaks again.

"And she's saved us all tonight by stopping that Footbot from escaping," Raph finishes. He pulls out the sai she had held before returning it to him, swearing that he can almost feel her touch on the hilt as he gazes at it. "We trust her, sensei," He turns to look back at his master, "She's our friend."

Splinter sighs and reaches up to rub his eyes as his family waits for his decision anxiously. Their words whisper through his mind, pushing back his better judgement. Ryu had been and is still on the dark path she insists on. If he allows his sons to be near her, she could get them all hurt. He could possibly loose one of his sons in the wake of her revenge.

He had once tried to lead her off that dark path when she was the small age of twelve, but she had refused with such a rage in her eyes that it hurt his heart. Remembering it now, it reminded him of the look Karai had given him during his fight with Shredder.

So much anger. So much pain.

Splinter drops his hand and looks across the group before him; his sons and April and their new ally Casey Jones. Maybe they could do what he couldn't. Maybe they could heal Ryu's dark heart. Maybe they could save her from the path she has chosen to walk, even though it would surely lead to death.

 _Maybe they could save her from the pain of her unhappy past_ , he thinks. A smile breaks out across his face and he nods in agreement, "You show much wisdom, my students, and you are right. I will speak with her."

"YEAH!" The turtles cheer.

"Finally getting another girl on the team!" April shouts. All the guys turn to throw her a look. "What," She shrugs, "You think I actually _like_ being the only girl?"

They all break into laughter.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	11. Chapter 10: 2-9 The Kraang Conspiracy

_Alright, here's the second upload that didn't make it through. Let us know what you think._

 _Again, go check out the finished reference page for Ryu and better acquaint yourself with our little rebel:_

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 _[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]_

 _If you can figure that out, you're a mastermind. :D_

 ** _Review_ _Please!_**

- _Ravyne_

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _10_**

 ** _2-9: "The Kraang Conspiracy"_**

Her phone is buzzing like a bee in her pocket, but she can't pull it out, not with so many customers in the shop. She rings up the next receipt and hands the customer his keys and change with her practiced smile, "Thank you so very much for coming to me. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Absolutely," The man, maybe in his early twenties grins over the counter at her, "I could use a date this Saturday."

Ryu widens her smile forcefully, but tries her best to let it look genuine, "Sorry, but I've got plans."

"Your loss then," He grins and then waves back as he leaves.

 _Whatever you say_ , Ryu wants to growl. She rings up the next customer, an older woman on her cell phone, and then hands her the keys to her convertible. "Everything is taken care of and the window should roll up fine now."

"Yeah, hold on Rodge, the mechanic is interrupting me," The woman buries the speaker on the phone into her chest and glares at Ryu, "Do you mind?"

Ryu's smile falters just a smidge as she lifts her hand and points towards a sign on the wall that reads 'No Cell Phones While Paying Please' and then holds out the lady's credit card.

The woman snatches it back and balls up the receipt Ryu slides across to her in her painted fingernails, "No need to get smart, kid."

"No need to break the rule, ma'am," Ryu retorts as calmly as she can, refusing to drop the frozen smile on her face as she holds the lady's car keys out across to her. The lady yanks the keys away, cutting the tip of Ryu's finger on the key ring in the process, and storms out the front door.

"FINALLY!" Ryu exhales a breath it feels like she'd been holding all day and rushes around the counter to lock the door. She tucks her bleeding fingertip in her mouth as she skips out the side door to her junkyard. Down in her base, Ryu pulls out her phone to read her message; it's an alert from her computer.

Apparently, something is coming through the communication line in the Kraang tech she stole so long ago. The transmission is coming through the TCRI building.

 _It's back up and running already?!_ Ryu quickly goes to shower and change before the sun sets. It's been a long, terrible day today and this is the perfect reason to release some of her frustration. Maybe cracking some Kraang heads would make her feel better.

A smile touches her lips.

* * *

Ryu drops to the carpeted floor silently, squatting low to let her legs absorb the impact. The dark room around her is full of those boring office cubicles, but everything is so quiet she's not sure if she should dare to move or not. Her eyes scan the dark silhouettes around her, ready to jolt at the slightest hint of a movement, but nothing comes. Easily, she stands up.

Standing on her tip toes, she can see that the cubicles expand the full length of the room, but why? Ryu sneaks around the corner and nearly screams.

A Kraang human suit is sitting down at the desk, unmoving. Ryu bites her tongue to hold the shriek in and then hesitantly reaches out to wave her hand in front of the Kraang's face. It doesn't move. Narrowing her eyes, she leans around it and finds it plugged into the wall.

 _What the heck?!_

"Wagh-!"

Ryu jumps in alarm at the scream nearby and ducks down next to the wall on the inside of the cubical. Whatever it was, it came from right on the other side of the wall at her back. Taking a deep breath, she focuses her breathing and exhales slowly with her eyes closed. Her heart slows, her pulse calms. Her power lowers to a quiet hum under her skin as her entire being focuses on her heart point and settles into her battle mode.

Something sounds on the top of the wall above her head. Hands.

Someone's looking over the wall.

"It's okay, it's alright. I think these androids are just…charging."

Ryu sighs in relief the second she hears Donnie's voice and lets her head rest against the wall behind her for a second. She then moves to pull out a small blade from inside her boot and cuts open the android's face to get to the tech under the squishy fake skin.

 _Keep focused, Ryu. You can do your job and get out before they know you're here_ , she thinks as she pops open the robot's face and starts to search for something she can use.

"Weird," Raph continues, "I wonder if there's Kraang inside of 'em."

A second later, Mikey is laughing at something, "Dudes, their faces are all rubbery and stuff. Check it out!"

Ryu shakes her head and tries not to laugh as Mikey starts making blubbering noises and saying Donnie stinks.

"Stop that!" Leo cuts him off. "We've got to move before they wake up."

Something heavy hits the floor and Ryu jumps again as the turtles yell. This time she can't take any chances. She leans out to glance around the corner of the cubicle she's in. April stands up from inside the circle where the turtles stand.

"April?" Raph demands, "What are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'm sick of sitting on the side lines," April hisses back. Ryu shakes her head and goes back to her work. If these guys get any louder, they'd wake up the dead.

"Fine," Leo agrees as he holds up a finger to her nose, "Just be quiet, stay close, and **do not** …let Mikey touch anything."

As if on cue, there's a startling buzzing noise coming from their cubicle, but then the android Ryu's working on starts making the same noise and she backs off.

"Wasn't me!" Mikey exclaims. Ryu grinds her teeth and glares off in their direction over the wall.

"I think they're done charging!" Donnie gasps.

"That or you idiots woke 'em up with all your noise!" Ryu hisses as she ducks around the corner. "We've got to move!"

She rushes off, the group filing in behind her, and they make their way around the cubicles towards the exit, an elevator on the other side of the room. All the while, Kraang droids are standing up and removing their power cords from the back of their necks. As they turn another corner, Ryu skids to a stop, stumbling to catch herself before she can be seen by the androids stepping out of their cubicles. If they see her, they'll all be in trouble.

Something grabs her around the waist and pulls her back against the wall just in time and she sighs. It's when she looks up that she realizes that she's not against the wall. Raph has pulled her against his chest instead, keeping his arm loose at her hip as he peaks around the corner. His touch burns through her clothes again, as if he's directly touching her skin, and she doesn't understand why.

"Kraang, does this human suit make Kraang look fat?" One of the androids says to another.

"What?" Ryu whispers, but abruptly she finds herself looking right into the face of another android coming out of the space in front of her. "Agh!" She slams her fist into its face to knock it back, "Run!"

They take off again from their cover and pause by the elevator door for Leo to urgently press the door button nervously. It seems like forever before the door finally opens and they all pile inside.

 _Close, close, close!_ Ryu demands. The doors slide shut slowly, taunting her impatience, and then Leo swipes a card in the scanner next to the entrance. When the doors shut, she collapses against the metal wall and sighs. They all breathe heavily.

"So…how y'all been?" Ryu asks after a long moment of just listening to their labored breaths fill up the space. They all laugh.

Standing up to wait, the creepy elevator music fills up the awkward silence around them. Beside her, Ryu raises an eyebrow at Mikey who starts nodding his head to the beat. _He actually likes this stuff?_ She thinks. The music is annoying, too cheerful, too boring.

Groaning, she lifts her hand to rub her forehead.

"This music is making…my…" Ryu and Raph glance at each other awkwardly.

"Ears…" Ryu continue.

"Bleed…" Raph finishes.

"Whoa," Mikey gawks, swinging his arms over both of their shoulders, "You two are, like, brain-sharers."

Raph smacks the back of his younger brother's head and crosses his arms, flustered.

"Uh…Ryu, you're hurt," April, stands next to Donnie, points down towards her hand.

Ryu lifts her right hand to inspect the allegation and sure enough her middle and ring finger knuckles are bleeding slightly. "Huh…when did that happen?"

"Well, you did punch a Kraang in the face," Mikey points out and raises his fist in the air, "Which was awesome!"

"We need to clean that," April suggests.

"Give it a second," Ryu stops her, holding out her hand to the light after wiping off the blood that had dripped down her finger. With the small cuts now visible, April leans in to look at them. Right before her eyes, the edges of the small cuts start to glow a bright pink-purple color and the wounds creep to a close, healing themselves after a few moments.

"Whoa!" They all pile around her hand to get a better look.

Raph takes her wrist, surprising Ryu, and his eyes widen even further, "How the heck did that happen?!"

"That's not normal!" Donnie adds.

"What made you guys think I was normal?" Ryu asks, raising an eyebrow.

The elevator dings and everybody flinches, taking a fighting stance in anticipation of a battle. When the door pop open, the room beyond is as dark as the one Ryu had dropped into. Leo leans out to get a look and then gives a hand signal before leaping out. Mikey follows, then Donnie, then Raph and April, all sneaking out stealthily; Ryu just waltzes out after glancing around the corner. She crosses her arms and follows after them, silently wishing there had been someone waiting to fight them.

That would've at least made her feel less awkward. What the heck had happened in the elevator? Since meeting the turtles, she's felt like she and Raph were thinking on the same brain wave frequency. It's weird and yet…

"Ryu, come on!" Leo calls back to her quietly. Inside the room, Kraang are floating around in their little mobile devices with their eyes closed as if they're sleeping. Ryu stops behind everyone as they duck down in the shadows to watch.

"What's going on, Donnie?" Raph asks.

"It's a Kraang sweet sixteen birthday party!" Donnie answers in a high pitched girly voice before glaring at his older brother in front of him. "How am I supposed to know?!"

Ryu snickers behind them, earning herself a glare from Raph. She cough out the rest of the laugh, "Sorry, it's just…That was hilarious." She holds out her hand and fist bumps Donnie.

That's when April stands up, holding her head, and takes a few steps forward, "It's Kraang Prime; they're meditating, communication. I can hear their thoughts."

"Whoa, man," Mikey grins, "You're like…telepathetic!"

"It's telepathic, Mikey," Ryu corrects.

"Huh?"

Seeing his blank expression, Ryu just smiles and pats his shoulder, "Never mind."

"They're talking about invasion," April continues. They all wait silently, watching April patiently as she keeps a hand to her head and her eyes closed, but then she suddenly jerks back with a gasp. All around them the floating Kraang wake up out of their hibernation state and turn on them, an alarm blasting through the building.

"Uh, guys, what are we thinking?" Mikey asks.

"Run!" Leo shouts. They take off for the elevator, but it doesn't open fast enough. Kraang bots and the weird front desk lady Ryu had first seen on her trip through TCRI step into the room.

She faces them, determined to hold them off until the elevator could be opened.

"Hey, it's that freaky chick with the exploding elbows!" Mikey yells.

"Ex..plo…ding…" Ryu's mind shuts off for a second, "Wait, WHAT?!"

On cue, the front desk lady lifts her arm and her elbow unhinges to reveal a missile launcher. Ryu quickly draws out the two earth spheres from her side bag on her belt and she uses her power to merge them together, making them stronger, and forging them into the biggest shield she can without making the material too thin.

The missile hits hard, forcing Ryu back a few feet across the floor. When the smoke clears, Ryu changes the shield. Bending it to her will, the metal obeys spreading out across her arm until her forearms are covered and two long blades become her limbs. She takes off with the turtles at her back and attacks. The missile lady lets another rocket fly and Donnie spilts off to protect April from the projectile.

The rest of the Kraang bots fire their laser guns, forcing the group to scatter and attack alone. Leo takes out three Kraang bots who barely turn to see him coming before stealing one of the laser guns to fire at a few floating Kraang who are zipping towards him. They don't even bother to dodge.

Ryu, Mikey, and Raph join him by his side as he points his sword off at a doorway, "We've got to get to that door."

The missile lady bars their path with a wicked grin.

"Don't you guys think it's weird?" Ryu whispers as they glare at the woman.

"What?" Raph asks.

"Whenever we attack, they don't even bother to dodge us. It's like they want us to attack them, almost like they're waiting for something."

The missile lady lifts her arm again and opens her elbow for another shot and more Kraang bots come up to join her behind her. Donnie races to rejoin his brothers, but a Kraang bot comes up from behind and catches April by the arm when he's turned away.

"It is the human known as April O'Neal," the Kraang bot announces.

April draws her metal fan and starts whacking away at his face, "I am not…gonna…ask for help!"

Ryu peels one of the blades off of her left arm and forms it into a spear before hurling it at the Kraang bot that holds April's arm. It pierces its head. "There's no shame in it April!" Ryu calls as she passes by, the spear breaking free from the Kraang's head to return to her hands as she goes to take out a Kraang shooting at them.

A second later, April is screaming for help though, and Ryu glances back over her shoulder. Another Kraang has shown up to replace the other and it's dragging her away through a dark doorway.

"Ryu, go after her. We'll hold them off here!" Leo calls as he and his brothers are bashing away at the other Kraang. Ryu nods and takes off after them before the robots can stop her and the darkness beyond swallows her for a long second before she jogs out into a brighter hallway. April's scream has her running again down the left direction, following the bright pink-purple lights along the walls. As she turns the corner, five Kraang androids bar her path and aim their guns at her.

She forges the spear she had made back into the blade around her forearm and glares at the bots. With one last push of her power, she races at them and scrapes the tips of the blades along the ground, sending up a rain of sparks behind her. She swings her arms and spins around to take out two more on her other side with a sharp upper swing. The Kraang split in half and fall to the ground; the squid like aliens squeak in panic and escape on their tentacles down the hall. She follows after them, ending up in a circular room with a computer in the center. Ryu looks around, searching for any signs of April. Even another scream would do.

Instead, she finds something even more disturbing. 'April' clones, floating in containers all along the outside wall of the room. Each one has her eyes closed as if asleep.

"What the…?" Ryu turns to the computer and starts typing away, staring down at the weird symbols that fly across the screen. "Ugh, why didn't I take 'Alien Robot' as my second language in high school?"

A door slides open behind her and Ryu send the metal blade on her free arm flying across the room.

"Whoa!"

The blade embeds into the alien metal wall, spirting out sparks from the hole. The turtles glare at Ryu and she smile sheepishly, "Sorry, I'm kinda jumpy right now."

Donnie stumbles free from the wall and takes a look around, "April clones."

"Yeah, I lost track of her, but they headed through here I think. I just got to find out where," Ryu explains as she types away on the computer. "At least I would if I could read alien!"

"Let me check."

Ryu steps aside to let Donnie take over and leans against the keyboard next to him to watch. _Guess he's smarter than I thought_ , she thinks.

"Hurry, Donnie," Leo urges.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can."

April's scream suddenly shatters through the room and three Kraang bots start filing into the room with laser guns on the second level of the room. "The turtles survived," One Kraang says, "Open the bin that is known as the reject bin."

"That…doesn't sound good," Ryu points out. Nearby, the smooth white floor opens up and the group readies for a fight. A hand pops out, grabbing the edge, and then April's head appears. They all raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Okay...I'm lost."

That's when the rest of the body comes out and they all scream.

"Never mind, I understand now!" Ryu answers as she back up in disgust. The April reject has two different sized legs, towering her high above them, two different sized arms, a deformed head, and an extra limb extending from her forehead where the regular looking April head sits.

The reject yells down at them, raising her deformed arms above her head.

"What the heck is that?" Leo asks. The reject slams her bigger foot onto the ground and the group scatters to avoid being squashed and then starts screaming something like 'derp, derp, derp, derp'.

"It's some kind of reject clone!" Ryu explains as she runs away.

"An April-Derp!" Mikey decides.

Ryu jumps up to avoid being stomped on and grabs hold of the second floor ledge. Pulling herself up, she calls down to Leo, "I'm going after April. Can you guys handle this?"

"No problem!" Leo answers. "Raph, go with her."

"On it," Raph jumps up on the April-Derp's back, kicking off to get higher into the air, and Ryu holds out her hand to him. Their palms meet and she pulls him up onto the second floor before running off into the doorway. The hallway leads them to a vertical tunnel full of wires and below another scream from April echoes up to them. They share a look before leaping out and grabbing hold of the wires, climbing down them like vines until they come out into another room. Far below, April is strapped to a table while Kraang bots stand around her in human suits to lead a drill towards her head.

"Ew," Ryu whines, catching the attention of a few of the Kraang who look up at her from their work. She leaps down landing on two of them and then kicks another one away. Raph cuts a few of the wires, stopping the drill and April looks up at him.

"Oh, great. Saved by Raph. I'm never going to live this down," April groans.

"Well we've all been there, April," He answers.

Ryu pauses in her assault to shrug up at him, "I haven't. So why don't you stop chatting and come help?"

Raph does just that, leaping down and landing on a Kraang behind Ryu who is about to shove a laser gun into her back and then kicks another away from her. Ryu slices another Kraang in half, dodges around a few laser bullets and then barrels into another to knock it into the wall. When she looks back, six other Kraang androids have Raph pinned to the floor and she runs to help him.

 _Why didn't I stay at his back?!_ , She screams at herself.

Two more Kraang step into her path and she's forced to attack them both to defend herself. Her heartbeat starts to pound in her ears; she's got to get to Raph, but then April also needs her help.

 _I hate this! I need help! I can't do this!_ , Ryu thinks.

One lone Kraang restarts the drill and it begins to lower back down towards April's head. The red head starts thrashing at her bonds, screams in fear. "No, no! Let me go!"

"Do not struggle. The one called April O'Neal will soon expire," the Kraang explains.

Ryu knocks her attackers away and races towards April, determined to break the drill apart with her own body if she has to.

"No," April cries, " _NO!_ "

April's last scream is heightened, powered by a force that tears across the room in waves, hitting the Kraang, but passing over Raph who is still lying on the floor.

Ryu is not so lucky.

The magnified waves hit her dead on, ripping through her body with such force that she screams from the sudden pain. Her power breaks free and she can feel her skin burn alive as if it's turning to lava. Her bones rattle as if they're going to break at any moment like twigs under the pressure squeezing her from the inside. Her heart pounds faster and faster, pounding into her head and echoing in her ears. Deep inside her she can feel something, tearing, ripping, shredding to pieces until there's only a single strand left to hold her together.

Hot tears escape out of her eyes, but she can't feel them.

All she can focus on is the fear and pain overwhelming her, filling her with panic as that single thread pulls thinner and thinner.

Then it snaps…

And everything goes dark.

* * *

Raph finally kicks free from the pile of Kraang droids that have fallen limply on top of him and he grumbles as he stands to his feet. Nearby April groans and he rushes to her side, pulling her free of her bindings. She sits up on the metal table she'd been laid on and rubs her head.

"You okay?" Raph asks.

"Brain…on fire…" April mutters, "Ready to pop…other than that…Meh."

"April!" Donnie cries as he and the other brothers drop into the room from above. He goes to grab her shoulders where she sits and touches her forehead.

"Where's…Ryu?" April asks.

"She's-." Raph turns to point in the girl's direction only to find her on the floor.

Not moving.

"RYU!" He races to her side and slides across the floor to her. As he touches her still shoulder, he's met with ice cold skin. His eyes widen in horror as he spots the blood dripping out of her lips. "DONNIE!"

His brother comes racing over to help and together they carefully turn her over onto her back. Raph's hand moves on its own, brushing the edge of her mouth to wipe away the blood.

"Why is she bleeding?" He demands.

Donnie lifts her wrist to check her pulse and then leans down to place his ear over her mouth, "She's hardly breathing."

"Why is she bleeding?!"

"I don't know, Raph!" Donnie shouts. "I can't do anything for her here. We need to get her back to the lair, now!"

Donnie is about to grab Ryu, but Raph leans forward and wraps his arms under her limp body carefully and yet with such speed that Donnie has to blink a few times to catch up. Raph sets her head carefully against his shoulder, making sure her face is well protected against his neck and then grabs her under her knees to lift her from the ground.

"Let's move, now."

Donnie follows his brother with his eyes in astonishment. He's never seen his brother like this: so protective, so defensive, so panicked. He never thought it was possible, but Donnie recognizes the look on his brother's face. He knows it well.

His brother likes Ryu.

"Let's go, Donnie!"

Leo's voice shocks Donnie out of his thoughts and he rushes over to help April onto his back to carry her out. Tonight would be a long night for all of them.

Especially Raph.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	12. Chapter 11: 2-9(Part 2) Ryu

**So I need to apologize for the last two updates. My computer was on the fritz and my computer wouldn't let my documents download to my email so that I could send them to Ravyne. But what's done is done. No use spewing over it now.**

 **Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page and is currently working on the reference pages for our two new characters who will be appearing in Part 2. Here's the link:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please!_**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _11_**

 ** _2-9.2: "Ryu"_**

When she's finally able to reach back to her body, it's as cold and numb as ice. Her head is heavy, lying turned to the side on a soft pillow. Her eyes feel like marbles in her skull: unfamiliar and alien. Her neck cracks multiple times as she rolls her head to look at the roof, but the movement brings on an overwhelming wave of nausea and she quickly rolls to her side to cough off the side of the table she lies on. Nothing comes up except blood; not enough to be worried about, but enough to mean that her throat is more raw than it feels. The red splatters on the floor, drops scattering a good ways off, and she stares down at it as she breathes laboriously.

 _God, what is wrong with me…_ Her thoughts race in her mind, but it's hard to pin one down with the massive headache setting in.

She waits for the nausea to pass and then slowly sits up. The air around her smells weird, deeper than what she's used to. There are too many other scents swirling around in it. As she looks up, Ryu takes in the room.

It's some kind of lab. Tables with parts and beakers and different colored liquids are set out on top of them all over the place. Beyond that is an area that looks quite similar to her shop but the tool kits are a bit shabby-obviously well used.

Sounds from outside catch her attention and she looks out the tall doorway towards the foot of her table. For a long moment she just stares out the open doorway, listening to the noises, trying to identify them. There's a struggle going on, a fight, but it doesn't sound serious.

 _I've got to get out,_ Ryu thinks, _I've got to leave. Not safe…_

Her legs are shaking, weak, but she fights against the crushing need to pass out. At the door, she falls against the doorframe, the hard metal digging into her shoulder. Her eyes trail over to the other side of the room where a paper wall stands. Shadows of a large tree are cast from the other side; this tree she recognizes from the last time she was here. Beyond there is the dojo.

Beyond there is Splinter.

 _Get out…run…not safe…_

She forces her feet to move, to carry her unevenly across the room towards the tracks. She's not sure how she made it above the subways, she's not sure how long it took her to get back to her base.

All she remembers is getting underground, seeing her familiar Gigi scrambling across the floor towards her and then passing out all over again.

* * *

"Hang on, guys, I'm going to get a water. Anyone want one?" April calls as she exits the dojo.

"Me," Mikey calls with a raise of his hand, but he leaves himself open to attack from Raph who kicks him in the chest a bit too harshly.

"I'll take one too, please," Donnie repeats, Leo knocking his feet out from under him.

April laughs as she skips down the steps and heads towards the kitchen. She slows to a stop half way and drops her eyes to the floor. Something tells her to check the lab, some bad feeling that fills her gut. She glances over and just through the doorway, she can just make out the table where they'd laid Ryu.

It's empty, the pillow tossed to the floor.

"Guys!" April screams, rushing across the room. The turtles and Splinter both peek out of the dojo in confusion. "Ryu's gone! She's gone!"

"What?!" Raph takes off, racing out into the tunnels, following the tracks, and making his way to the surface. His brothers are close behind, panic powering their feet, and the rooftops welcome them above. The wind tears at them, a storm moving in.

"Raph, stop. We need to make a plan-."

"What plan?!" Raph demands, turning on Leo. "We don't need a plan. We just have to find her."

"Raph, I know you're worried, but-."

"Shut up! Just find her," Raph turns on his heel and speeds off away from them.

Leo watches him go and then glances at his brothers, "He's right. Split up and search. She couldn't have gotten far."

"Unless she left a while ago. We've been training for hours," Donnie points out.

"Just do a wide search, especially in the alleys. Keep your T-Phones on," Leo orders. With that, they split up and begin their individual searches.

They wouldn't find her.

* * *

Again the computer screen blinks its red warning: **NEGATIVE**.

Ryu clicks away on the keyboard, ordering a new scan on the machine and then lies back down. The machine whirls from its new commands and then the bar with its scanning laser begins its journey back down the full length of her body, hovering a foot over her. The computer talks on as the scan continues.

" **Scanning…Scanning…Scanning…** "

There's a loud ding.

" **Scan complete.** "

Ryu sits up and immediately looks to the computer screen.

" **Negative**."

She slams her fingers into the keyboard, booting up another scan, frustration pumping through her system. Lying back down, she waits while the machine whirls and then the bar floats by over her again.

" **Scanning…Scanning…Scanning...Scan complete. Negative** _ **.**_ "

Ryu sits up, screaming. Running her hands through her loose hair, the curls spilling out over her shoulders, Ryu grinds her teeth and tries to get her breathing under control. Getting angry just makes everything worse when she tries to think back on what happened. All she can remember was a terrible pain striking at her body, going straight through her to her core, and then ripped her from the inside out.

Whatever it did to her, she can't figure it out.

For what feels like the hundredth time, her phone buzzes on the table across the room, reminding her of the outside world, the chaos she's sure that she left behind. Her eyes bore into the end of the table between her feet, unblinking.

The buzzing stops for a long moment, but then comes back again. It's been going on like this for days now. Her phone would buzz nearly all day, but at night it would get even worse. She refuses to look at it.

They must be really angry with her.

 _I blacked out. That only happens when my power takes over. That's when bad things happen. That's when I do something terrible_ , Ryu drops her head in between her knees and squeezes her eyes shut. _God, what did I do? Who did I hurt?_

Her phone stops buzzing and then rings.

She lifts her head and gazes across the room. Since when does her phone ring; no one ever calls her? Sighing, she trudges across the room and lifts the phone up to peer at the screen.

April.

She sits down in her roll around chair and waits until it stops ringing before checking the voice message left, "Hey, Ryu, I really hope you're okay. We've all been looking for you non-stop. Please let us know if you're okay. We're all really worried. Call me back."

Ryu raises her eyes to look at her phone on the table. They were worried? Weren't they mad? Hadn't she hurt someone? She picks up the phone again and starts scrolling through her text messages from everyone.

Most of them are all the same: are you okay, where are you, are you hurt, call me, please let us know you're okay.

April sent most of them, but the other turtles sent a few of their own; all except Raph. She hasn't received anything from him.

Her phone rings again, this time an unknown number.

Her eyebrows draw together in confusion. Lifting the phone, she hits the speaker button hesitantly.

"H…hello?"

"RYU!"

She pulls the phone away from her head as five different voices scream at her. Her headache just get worse. "O-ow…?"

"Are you okay?"

"Where are you?"

"Why did you leave?"

"Have you seen that new video where the cat plays chopsticks with the chopsticks?"

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!"

Ryu counts the voices: Leo, Donnie, April, Mikey, and Casey. No Raph.

"Wait, who's phone are you using? The number came up unknown," Ryu inquires.

"Casey showed up and offered to call you," April explains.

"Oh," Ryu nods but then the words register, "Wait, you mean that idiot has my phone number now?!"

"Hey, that idiot is right here, doll," Casey chuckles. Something hits him from the other side of the line and he cries out. "What the heck was that for, Raph?!"

"I told you not to talk to her like that!"

Ryu can just barely hear his voice through the phone, but it's enough to make her pulse jump.

"If you two are going to fight, give me the phone," April growls at the boys. A second later, her voice comes in louder than before. "Ryu, can you do me a favor, if you're feeling up to it?"

Ryu glances back over at the computer across the room, the screen still blinking ' **NEGATIVE** ' across the front. She had wanted to perform a few more scans…

"I guess. What do you need?"

"For you to come back."

"Huh?"

"We just want to know that you're okay. Well, me mostly. I want to apologize," April tells her.

"For what?" Ryu's eyebrows rise to her hairline. Just what had the redhead done now?

"Just…can you get here?"

Ryu looks up at the clock on the computer screen in front of her. 5:00 pm. Shrugging, she turns back to the phone, "I guess I can make it there..."

"Yes!"

Again, more than one voice screams through the phone and blows out her sensitive ear drums, but Ryu can't help smiling in relief. It's obvious that she hadn't lost control; hurt anyone she cares about. But if that's the case…then what happened to her?

"Where am I meeting you at?" Ryu asks.

A new voice answers her, "Your home."

Ryu's eyes widen in surprise.

* * *

When she reaches the lair, the main room where the TV sits is empty and quiet. At first, she's too afraid to walk through the turnstiles, afraid she'd be struck down by lightning. The lair has always been a place Ryu has felt she's lost the blessing to enter into. Does she even have the right to now, even though she was invited?

Taking a deep breath, her fingers tightening anxiously around the rope handles of her bag slung over her shoulder, Ryu steps through the turnstiles and into the lair for the first time since she was twelve; well, not counting being brought here when she was out cold; the place hasn't changed. Two areas seem more alive: the dojo, where shadows are zipping across the paper wall, and the lab, where recognizable voices are floating out.

 _Might as well start there_ , Ryu thinks, _I'm sure Donnie will have more answers to my problem than I do._

When she walks into the lab, she spots Mikey, Donnie, April, and Casey all piled around one table. Mikey and Donnie are arguing about something.

She smiles, "Yes, Mikey, I've seen the video of the cat playing chopsticks with chopsticks."

"Ryu!" Mikey races over and swallows her up in a hug. "It was awesome right?"

She bumps her fist to his and then turns to accept hugs from April and Donnie. "Are you feeling okay?" April asks, "I'm really sorry."

"About what?"

"According to Raph and Donnie, I'm the one who hurt you."

Ryu throws her a question mark look, "You lost me."

"Can we talk about this later? Let's head over to the dojo. I want to see Raph's expression," Casey grins.

Mikey laughs too and grabs Ryu by the free arm since she holds her bag on her shoulder with the other. They all lead her across the lair to the stairs by the dojo. Ryu pulls free, "Maybe I should wait out here."

"It's okay, Ryu," Donnie assures her. "We've talked to master Splinter."

Ryu stares up at him and he smiles down at her assuredly. Still not convinced, she lets Mikey take her arm again and they all enter into the dojo after she removes her boots by the door. The huge tree welcomes her again, the shade still cool and comforting as the light from above it seeps in from above the sewers. The familiar scene brings back so many memories to her; both happy and sad. This is where Splinter had taught her. This is also where she had broken his trust.

Leo is sparing with Raph and he knocks him away, the younger turtle sliding on his back across the floor towards them. "Whoa!" They all exclaim together.

Raph jumps to his feet, his green eye blazing and Leo laughs, "Chill, Raph, it's just training."

"Whatever!" Raph gets ready to jump his brother, drawing out his sai and everyone takes a step back.

Ryu reaches over quickly and presses her thumbs into either side of the back of Raph's neck. He instantly calms down with a sigh. "Chill," Ryu repeats Leo's words as she releases his neck and leans around his shoulder to eye him curiously.

Raph turns to glance at her, their eyes locking, and his eyes widen in surprise. For a long moment, Ryu thinks he's not going to move, that maybe he's going to hug her, but then the moment shatters as Mikey wraps his arm over their shoulders.

"You guys are so cute," He grins.

"Totally," Casey agrees, wrapping his arm over Raph's other shoulder and giving them the same grin. Ryu and Raph glare at him and he backs off.

"Get off, Mikey," Raph growls as he levels his glare across the room away from Ryu.

"Aw, c'mon, Raph. Ryu's back and okay. Give her a hug. Ow!"

Raph twists Mikey's finger and his little brother jerks away to cradle it next to his chest. Ryu goes to hug him, unable to resist the Mikey's cuteness, and says, "Don't mind him, Mikey. Raph's just being shy and doesn't know how to express it."

"What?" Raph exclaims.

" _Yamete_!"

Ryu jerks up straight like a board while the others stand to face Splinter's voice. Leo files in next to Raph to get into line as well. Dropping her eyes, she holds her breath, afraid she'll break if she moves. Her hands start to shake as she grabs the handles of her bag again with a death grip.

Raph glances at Ryu out of the corner of his eye. The second he had seen her, face full of color instead of dead pale as it had been when she had been out cold a few days before, he'd been overcome with the urge to wrap her up in a tight hug. He's not sure where the need had come from; it's all new to him.

For that long moment, he had been so sure that Ryu had felt the same feeling from him, that is until Mikey had broken the connection. He'll have to thank his little brother later. Raph didn't know what he would have done if Mikey hadn't.

Splinter's hand lifts off his staff and Raph watches Ryu squeeze her eyes shut in fear. But why?

Her shoulders lift, a reflexive motion to protect the neck. Her legs stiffen, the body readying to run.

Raph doesn't understand her reactions. What had happened between her and Splinter?

Splinter lays his hand gently on Ryu's head and she pops her eyes open in confusion, "Welcome home."

Ryu releases a quiet breath, one Raph almost misses, and her whole body eases up in relief as she looks up at to meet Splinter's eyes. He smiles down at her before bowing a little in her direction.

"I must thank you for aiding my sons and April," he tells her.

"B-But…I didn't…" Ryu lowers her head again.

Raph drops his arm over her shoulders, "She did. She's just being stubborn."

"You're one to talk," She retorts.

"Oooo!" Mikey laughs, "Burn!"

Raph removes his arm to face her with a cocky grin, "That sounds like a challenge."

"Maybe it is," she returns the smirk.

Splinter sighs and shakes his head before tapping his staff on the floor, "Then take your stance. Your training continues now."

Ryu blinks in surprise, but just being accepted once again has her feeling giddy. She rushes to the center of the dojo, dropping to the floor to open her bag, and pulls off her stockings and arm warmer. Stuffing them into her bag and pulling out a stick wrapped in white and red bindings, she hands her bag off to April who takes it over to where the others sit.

After wrapping up both of her legs, hands, and forearms in the fighting bandages, Raph finishes stretching and they both stand up to face each other. Raph starts circling her as she takes in a deep breath and lets it out slow to center herself.

"What's with the bandages? Afraid you're going to bleed?" He teases.

Ryu continues to breathe, but the corner of her mouth twitches at his comment.

Splinter taps his staff again, "Hajime!"

Raph races at her, pulling back his fist, and swings. His attack follows through but he stumbles at nothing, "What the-?"

Mikey laughs from nearby, "How's that failure taste?!"

Raph spins on a dime to find Ryu behind him, raising a hand and motioning at him with her index finger; a clear 'bring it on' message she sends with a grin. Raph drops and spins his leg out fast to knock her off her feet. Ryu responds by jumping into the air, propping her hands on his shoulders and flipping over him to land behind his back. He climbs to his feet, but as he turns around Ryu strikes out at him, pressing her palm into the center of his chest, and slams his back into the ground.

A wave of dizziness comes over her, her legs turning to jello, and Ryu goes to her knees beside him, grabbing her forehead with her right hand. Donnie stands up, April bites her lip with a gasp, and Raph sits up as he grabs her left wrist from his chest in shock.

"Ryu?"

"I'm good," she tells him, pulling her hands free to wave off his concern, "My heads just spinning a bit. Give me a second." Another hand, no doubt Splinter's, touches her shoulder in concern.

"You are not at your full capability, Ryu. You must take your time," Splinter instructs.

"No," Ryu argues, "I'm fine." She stands up to her feet the second the vertigo passes and shakes her head. The bindings around her arms shift as she raises her fists and takes her stance once more, "Come on, let's go."

Raph stands back up and glances uncertainly at Splinter, "I don't think-."

"Raph," Ryu warns, "Don't even. I'm fine. Let's go again."

Splinter nods, "Hajime!"

They circle each other again, each watching the other's movements carefully, waiting patiently for an opening to strike. Ryu's reveling in the feeling; these past few days of having no contact with her power have been so confining. When they attack this time, Raph keeps his movements at a pace, matching Ryu's almost perfectly. She knows he's holding back, knows that he's trying to take it easy on her, and she's fine with that.

She knows when to take it easy, when to go slow. It's just like life; you've got good and bad hills you've got to climb but sometimes you've just got to pause to catch your breath before you start climbing once more. You've got to pace yourself until you reach your full potential.

Until she's back to full health, she's going to do just that. She's going to just go back to her roots and focus on healing and retraining herself.

That way, when her powers come back, if they come back, she'll be ready to embrace them with open arms.

* * *

"Good night," Ryu calls to Mikey as he waves to her. He sluggishly trudges up the steps to the back of the lair where their rooms are located and disappears into one of the four rooms. Ryu sits down on the couch to continue drying her wet hair with the small hand cloth. She'd have to remember to grab towels from her base tomorrow before coming back here.

It's still odd, calling this place home, but calling it that fills her up with so much warmth that she's had a smile on her face since they'd finished training. Casey and April had left not long after that to head home themselves, welcoming her to the team officially before going.

Water droplets drip off her long, white-silver hair, dropping to the couch with an almost sound on the fabric. She's never had curls in her hair, but wearing it in a braid all day every day for the past eight years has just made it that way nearly all the time, especially when she gets out of the shower.

Accepting that her hair isn't getting any dryer, Ryu grabs the blue blanket Donnie had given her to use and lies out on her side across the couch facing the TV and wraps her arms under her head. She keeps her head nearest the entrance in case of intruders; an old habit that's never really died.

After saying her prayers, she closes her eyes and is just beginning to drift off into a dream when a noise catches her attention faintly. She's too far off into sleep to really care now, though, even when the sound stops right next to her. Or even when someone gently lifts her head to set it back down on something soft and plushy. The scent coming off the pillow is familiar, warm, calming, like coming home, and she reflexively snuggles up into a ball to nestle deeper into the warmth.

A hand, she thinks, brushes over her head, smoothing back her hair from her face and then down her neck. Finally it sweeps across her skin and separates from her at the top of her shoulder, leaving a trail of heat behind.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	13. Chapter 12: 2-10 Fungus Humungous

**This chapter is my way of saying: here's the turning point. She finally starts ' _hearing_ ' her new power. The first part of the series is almost complete.**

 **Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page and is currently working on the reference pages for our two new characters who will be appearing in Part 2. Here's the link:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please!_**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _12_**

 ** _2-10: "Fungus Humungous"_**

"I can't believe you followed me this morning," Ryu grumbles as they climb down the fire escape.

Leo hops down and lands next to her where she waits and props his hands on his hips, "I saw you heading out and I was worried that you were running off again."

"And you couldn't just text me to find out?"

Leo shrugs sheepishly, "I guess I could have, but…yeah, I could have."

"See?" Ryu rolls her eyes but then bites her lip nervously as he climbs down the man-hole. After a few minutes, she passes down the bags full of food in them. She'd noticed this morning that their kitchen was pretty bare, so she figured she'd get them a few things since they were nice enough to let her stay. She's still giddy from yesterday when Splinter had said she could call their lair her home.

"I won't tell the others if it makes you feel any better."

Ryu pulls the man-hole cover back into place and starts climbing down the ladder. At the bottom, she resituates her bag on her shoulder and then takes a grocery bag from Leo's hands. "Yeah, I would feel better. I mean, if they found out that I live in a junkyard, Splinter would probably go nuts," Ryu chuckles at the thought.

She doesn't really like the fact that someone knows about her base; it's supposed to be her bolt hole to go to if things get bad. Leo had apparently followed her to work that morning and sat outside all day just beside the side door to the junkyard to wait for her to come out. She'd never been more surprised to find a smiling turtle grinning up at her sheepishly from his seat on an old tire. So of course she had to explain about her job and why she worked there; secretly she was using it to cover up her base underground. That, she hadn't allowed Leo to see, but she did show him the tunnel under the phone booth that led down to it; since losing touch with her powers, she's had to use the manual opening switch that she's glad she installed.

Other than that, today had been really boring.

As they walk, a really weird feeling comes over Ryu, something that's never happened before. It's strong, seeping into her body from behind like thick ooze, making her feel suddenly nauseous.

 _ **Run!**_ The feeling says. _**Run!**_

Ryu spins on her heel and glares off into the shadows behind her. Nothing moves. The shadows are normal, empty.

"What's wrong?" Leo asks, glancing behind them warily.

Ryu scratches under her nose at the strong scent that itches it, but nothing more. The alien feeling, unknown to her body, still lingers like a foreign presence in her gut, but she doesn't know why. The hair on her arms and the back of her neck are standing on end, her legs are itching to run; it's like her body is not in her control.

"N-nothing," She answers, "Just…a bad smell."

"Well, we do live in the sewers," Leo laughs.

Ryu accepts that and follows after him, but that doesn't mean the unfamiliar feeling in her body doesn't still keep digging into her with cold claws. The walls look different now too, almost warped around the edges in both color and shape. It's like they're bending towards her, encroaching on her.

She picks up her pace unconsciously, "Come on, let's hurry and see if Casey and April are at the lair yet."

"Don't tell me you've got a crush on Casey," Leo teases.

"Oh, ew!" Ryu scrunches up her nose in disgust, "You just totally ruined my appetite. I'm still trying to get him to stop prank calling me. You know, he texted me twice today just to say 'cheese cow'?"

"Cheese cow? Why?"

"Exactly!"

* * *

Back at the lair, Donnie, Mikey, and Raph are all sitting on the couch watching TV as they walk in. "We're back," Leo calls.

"Where have you been? Sensei has been throwing a fit," Raph growls, standing up. Ryu quickly takes the bags from Leo so that the two can dish it out while she goes to put the food in their kitchen. Splinter walks in behind her and sets down a small sheet of paper on top of the island in the center of the room. Ryu recognizes it instantly.

It's the note she left this morning to tell them she was going to work and what time she'd be back. Ryu bites her lip and turns back to stocking the shelves.

"So you have a job," It's a statement instead of a question; an observation instead of an allegation.

She turns towards him slowly and then kicks up off the floor to sit on the counter, "Yeah…I guess I should've told you…Just so you know, though, I had no idea that Leo was going to follow me to work! I had nothing to do with that."

"I already knew."

Ryu raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Michelangelo informed me of Leonardo's intentions at training today."

"Oh," She sighs, "I keep forgetting they have phones." Splinter eyes the food she's putting away and Ryu quickly hops down to put the rest of it away, "Yeah, I figured since you were letting me stay here, I'd help out in any way that I could, so if you need anything just let me know."

"Thank you," He nods.

"Guys!" She and Splinter look out the kitchen door towards the shouting voice before going to investigate. Casey comes stumbling in, "April…sewers…Hurry!"

"Casey, what's wrong?" Raph demands.

"Are the Footbots back?" Leo asks as he walks up to join his brothers.

Casey shakes his head and stands back up from his slouched over position, "We were on our way here. Next thing I know, April starts acting freaked out, then runs off. She's gone!"

"Wait, wait! You just… **lost** April?!" Donnie glares at him.

"Relax," Mikey tells him in an attitude that, to Ryu, seems way too mature for him. For a moment she starts to think that maybe he's starting to grow up a bit but then, "I'm sure there's a logical explanation, like, she was eaten by a giant sewer snake or something."

Ryu rolls her eyes at Mikey, _Too late_.

Donnie freaks out then, "LET'S GO!" He races off out of the lair faster than Ryu has ever seen him go and the guys move to follow after him.

Leo pauses along with Raph and Mikey, "Ryu, are you coming?"

She grips the water bottle she'd grabbed from the kitchen hard between her hands and covers up her defeated expression with a smile, "I don't think I'm fully up to par yet. You guys, go. I know you can handle it."

They leave then, disappearing after Donnie and Casey into the maze of the sewers beyond. Splinter sets his hand on Ryu's shoulder and she looks up at him, "Shall we discover what has happened to you power?"

Ryu smiles up at him, "Sure thing."

They head into the dojo, Ryu pulling off her shoes at the door, and they sit beneath the tree side by side. "Try and remember what exactly happened to you that night."

Ryu sighs and stares down at her hands in her lap for a long moment in silence. She can't really remember anything except for the pain and then blacking out into unconsciousness. _The pain is the most dominate part of the memory_ , she thinks.

"I remember a lot of pain, just pain. Like something inside me was…" Ryu drops her head into her hands, trying hard to pull back the memories, to push through the torture that had taken over her. But the fear of having to relive it holds her back. "I can't. Whenever I try to remember, I just…I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Splinter tells her as he closes his eyes, "The pain must have been quite strong to block your memory the way it has."

"That, or I'm just scared of remembering," Ryu mumbles.

Splinter glances at her from the corner of his eye. Her expression looks strained, pained. "Fear is just an illusion, Ryu. It can only have power over you if you give it that power."

"I know. I learned that back home on the mountain. You're supposed to face it, but how do you face pain?"

Splinter thinks for a moment, shifting his eyes over to the picture of his family, "The only sure way that I know of, is with happiness. When I lost my family, I had to live with that pain every day. It slowly ate away at me as time went on. But then I found my sons and we were changed into what we are. Now I have happy memories to help me through the sad ones and the pain is easier to bare."

"But can you get rid of it?" Ryu asks, thinking back to the accident that had lost her her eye.

Splinter turns to her, "There is no ridding yourself of emotional pain. You can only grow strong enough to carry it, but physical pain is something easily overcome. What you are asking is the removal of the memory of physical pain."

Ryu furrows her brow in confusion, "You lost me."

"I do not think that I have," He smiles at her, "The fear you have of the physical pain you experienced can be erased, but the memory of the pain of your past cannot. You can only ease it."

Ryu lowers her eyes. He still remembers, after all these years; she'd only told him the major points of what happened. "I…only want to figure out what happened to me the other night so I know whether or not I've really lost my power."

Splinter leaves it at that. Crossing the line, talking about her past, is what caused her to leave last time, so he wouldn't take that chance again. At least not for a while. "Then try closing your eyes and just breathing. Let your memories and your body tell you what is wrong."

"I don't think my body knows either."

Splinter smirks at her sarcastic remark, "You can learn a lot through simply meditating. Do you remember my lessons from before?"

Ryu closes her eyes and nods, "Yeah."

"Then focus your mind. Let your breathing calm. Listen…"

She focuses on her breathing, slowing it until her thoughts still to nothing. Her heartrate slows to a steady beat and she just listens. For a long time they sit there in silence, letting the tree above them offer them shade. Her heart beats smoothly, evenly, calmly, slowing so much that she nearly falls into that space between sleep and awareness.

That's when she hears the other beat.

Another living pulse hidden deep beneath her heart beat, like a second life source.

 _What the…_

Her heartrate speeds up in alarm and the other beat vanishes.

 _Wait..._ Ryu opens her eyes and groans in frustration.

"Any luck?"

"If you count a second heart **luck** ," She grumbles.

Splinter raises an eyebrow, "Now you have lost me."

Ryu drops her hands into her head and explains what she heard.

"Reach for it again and see what happens."

So she does, slipping back into her meditation and waits for her body to slow once more and slip into that space of emptiness that Splinter had trained her to find so long ago. The world around her falls away and she's left with the sound of her heart beat as it decelerates again. It drops to a rate so even that there's a pause between each beat…

And the other heart beat comes in between those. That foreign living pulse beating steadily, undetected, deep inside her unknown to the world. She focuses on it, drawing it forward in her mind, and the beat responds, getting faster and faster and faster until it's almost a vibrating hum; like a humming bird taking flight.

When Ryu starts to think that it's going to get so loud that her head will explode, the humming breaks and a bright lights spreads through her like a ray of warmth from the sun, sending goosebumps down her limbs in a flash from the center of her chest.

Ryu gasps for breath as she tears herself from her meditation state and rips open her eyes in alarm.

"What happened?" Splinter asks, standing over her with another water bottle.

Ryu looks up at him in confusion, _Had he left? How long have I been out?_

She accepts the water bottle he hands to her and she gulps it down probably faster than she should have. When she sets it down, Ryu takes note of the sweat dripping down her face. "How long was I out for?" She asks.

Splinter sits back down in his spot, but faces her this time, and rubs his chin, "Possibly twenty minutes. Why?"

"It felt like a few moments!" She shouts, grabbing her head. "Geez, meditation is scary."

Splinter chuckles and then lets her explain again what she's found out, "So what do you think it means?"

"Don't you know? I was hoping you would just tell me."

"Usually I would let you discover the meaning for yourself, but this I do not know. I have never heard of such a phenomenon happening before."

Ryu groans and drops her head into her hands again.

"You are too impatient, Ryu. All will come to pass in time."

"But I can't wait forever! I feel useless sitting around like this, not helping anyone."

Splinter throws her a look, "You can still fight. How does this make you useless?"

Ryu jumps to her feet in irritation, "Splinter, how can I fight. Somehow the stamina I had before has vanished overnight and I'm left with no power and just breakable hands to do anything with."

He follows her annoyed pacing with his eyes for a moment while she rants patiently, but then tells her, "According to my sons, you fight just as well with those breakable hands. Even without the power you had before, you can still be trained to make up for it with just your strength and your weapon."

"I highly doubt I can depend that much on a whip. I hardly used it before except for emergencies."

"Which is why you must now train your hands and feet to fight for you," Splinter stands up and exits across the room into his private chambers behind a paper door. Ryu sits back down to wait for him, picking at the fallen leaf that has landed in front of her. When he emerges, he carries a wooden box with him that's maybe a foot and a half long. "I trained you in the art of adaptation and meditation, so it should not be hard for you to adapt to this new change in your life."

He hands her the box and she sets it across her lap to open the lid. Inside are two crescent moon shaped weapons, the blades curving out of the handle to form the shape itself. Her mouth gaps open at the amazing craftsmanship and beauty of the blades. Intricate swirled designs are carved into the metal from the handles while the hilts themselves are wrapped in dark green leather.

"These are…beautiful…but I can't take them," Ryu argues, looking back up to meet his gaze.

"They were meant to be passed to you anyway."

"Huh?"

Splinter chuckles and sits back down beside her, "Just think of them as…a welcome home present."

Ryu smiles and places them back into the box before closing the lid and setting it down beside her. As she crosses her legs again, Ryu closes her eyes once more and smiles, "Okay, so what next?"

"Next? I thought you knew."

Ryu laughs.

For the next half hour, Ryu continues working with her meditation. When she comes out of it again, Splinter has trailed off into his own meditation and she doesn't want to interrupt him. Instead she stands up and leaves the room quietly, walking around the outside of the dojo to the ledge that overlooks the water way circling below.

The second she sits down, her fingers find her left arm and she brushes her skin until she locates her pulse beside her wrist artery. Her heart beat is steady and clear, the first in a long time. She not sure how long she sits there before she notices something weird.

The place has gotten seriously quiet. Too quiet. Like, a fox just walked into a bar full of rabbits.

And then all of a sudden, that feeling from before comes over her again, slimy and thick ooze seeping in through her skin into her core.

 _ **Run! Search!**_

Ryu jumps to her feet again as the feeling starts making her head spin and her stomach twists dangerously. Her breathing hitches in her throat as she looks down at her hands, _What is going on?!_

The nausea lightens but it only gives way to waves of tingling sensations that pulse in time with her heart beat. Ryu closes her eyes and focuses her breathing, balling her hands into fists at her hips as she re-centers herself. The tingling settles to a hum throughout her body as Ryu focuses on it and she notices how it swirls through her veins like a living thread of energy inside her.

 _This doesn't beat separately anymore. Now it beats with my heart, a part of it. I recognize this energy_ , Ryu thinks, brushing her consciousness against the energy. It bends to her call and abruptly sings out to her. A song all its own; a song she knows. _This_ _ **is**_ _my power! It's changed, evolved, into something else. It's never really left me at all. Whatever April supposedly did to me, it melded my power into me somehow. It flows through me now, a fragment or me instead of just floating under my flesh as a second skin like it used to be._

Ryu opens her eyes at the realization and stares down at her open palms. She smiles; joy filling her from her toes to the top of her skull. For a moment, she just sits there to enjoy the feeling, breathing in and out.

 _ **Run! Search! Danger!**_

The feeling from the walls, the slimy ooze, grasps at her gut again. Ryu looks around the room with a narrowed gaze. Where is it coming from? Why does it feel like the sewers are filling up with goo?

Glancing back at the dojo, Ryu leaps over the water way and heads towards the subway tracks. The feeling leads her deeper and deeper into the maze until she's almost sure that she's lost her way.

That's when she hears all these screams back to back.

"AH! Get away! Not the bats!"

"April, NO!"

"Rats! Demon rats!"

"Squirrelanoid! Keep away from me!"

"Cockroach! I'll burry you!"

Ryu jerks to a stop in the middle on an intersection and spins around, trying to find out the source of the sounds, "What the heck?!"

 _ **Danger! Search!**_

"I am!" Ryu screams at the feeling, "Where is it at?"

She closes her eyes and focuses on the song of her evolved power, it reaches out towards the walls, the earth, of the sewer walls. The earth's song responds back to her, whispering what it knows. It's been over run, poisoned.

She opens her eyes and glances off to her left, "Fungus?" She follows the feeling, racing off down the tunnel and comes out to a room where Donnie, April, Casey, Mikey, and Raph are all running around in a panic. "Guys?" She calls to them, "What's wrong?"

Mikey is the closest to her and the first to freak out on her, his eyes wild, "Agh! Squirrelanoid!"

"Squirrel-a-what?" Ryu ducks Mikey's chain, forcing her to back up, but she senses something behind her, her power screaming at her to move. "Hey?!"

"I said get away from me! Die, cockroach!"

"Wha-?!" She backs away from Raph who swings his sai at her, the blade just missing her chest by a hair, and then jumps down into the bottom of the pit in the center of the room. Glancing back up at the ledge above where Mikey and Raph have started fighting each other crazily, something comes at her from behind.

"April!"

Spinning on her toe she ducks as Donnie's bow staff whizzes by just over her where her head had once been and she jabs at his hand to knock it free; knocking his knees loose to bring him to the ground. "Sorry, Don," Ryu winces, "Whoa!"

"Get away from me, dad!" April screeches, swinging her metal fan at Ryu's head, once coming close to slitting open her throat.

"April, stop! I'm not your dad! What is wrong with you?" Ryu keeps backing up, trying desperately to avoid the redhead's feral attacks and eventually finds an opening to block her arm with hers and snatches her fan from her to throw it across the room where it embeds into the wall. She brings her leg around and knocks April's knees out from under her so she'll fall just like Donnie.

"Agh! Die, demon rat!"

Ryu spins around, grabbing the hockey stick coming down on her head in midair and then slams her fist into Casey's face, "Don't even think about it!"

"AH!" The last voice comes from somewhere farther off, a tunnel at the bottom of the pit leading off into the darkness. She runs after it, letting the shadows swallow her, and her feet echo through the hall.

 _ **Danger! Do not breathe!**_

 _What?_ , She thinks. As she runs, Ryu reaches back on her belt and unclips her face mask. Clicking a few buttons along the inside, she changes the settings on the mask and then presses it to her face. After a few whirls and clicks, the masks adjusts and air is sucked in for her to breathe. _This air taste better and definitely smells better. Something really has tainted the place down here._

The tunnel opens up into a huge room, a room full of glowing blue mushrooms and illuminous plants of fungus nature, and by full she literally means _full_. Her head tilts back as she takes in the giant mushroom that stands to the roof of the cavern with one big eye in the center of its head and a dozen smaller ones above that.

Her mouth twists in disgust, "Oh, ew…gross…I'm gonna hurl."

"Come on, Leo, fight!"

Ryu locates the voice, her eyes falling from the giant mushroom monster to the center of the room where Leo is swinging his swords at small mushroom critters that attack him with sprays of gold powder.

"Keep fighting," Leo yells at himself.

Ryu watching, trying to figure out what's going on. It's not until a moment later when she hears Leo's next sentence that she figures it out.

"Ugh," He falls to his knees as he grabs his head, the mushrooms continuing to spray him with gold powder over and over, "It's in my head."

 _In his head?..._ Her eyes drift back up to the huge mushroom in suspicion. _This thing's manipulating him._ Her thoughts drift back to the others in the previous room. They had all attacked her, seeing her as something different, something that scared them.

" _Fear is just an illusion, Ryu. It can only have power over you if you give it that power._ "

"They're seeing hallucinations," She mumbles to himself, remembering Splinter's words to her from earlier. "It's just fear."

Ryu races out of the shadows and fights through the pack of mushroom munchkins pounding Leo with their spray and starts kicking them away from him.

"Leo," She calls to him. He doesn't move, just keeps mumbling 'I've failed' over and over again. "Leo," Ryu grabs his shoulders and rocks him a little, his eyes open for a moment, red from the waves of golden spray, "It's not real! Fear isn't real, don't give it power!"

The mushrooms start spitting spray into her face, but the mask whirls and adjusts, keeping her oxygen clean. _Wow, it actually works_ , she thinks.

Forced to move away from Leo to fight off the mushrooms as they try to stick to her arms and head and legs, she spots one of Leo's swords lying alone and forgotten on the moss covered ground. Snapping it up, she stabs the tip into the ground in front of Leo and yells, "Wake up!"

Another mushroom bounces up, morphing into a ball, and she flips back to kick it across the room, "Ha! It's like blitzball!"

With this new technique, Ryu starts grabbing the mushrooms to throw them at the others like dodgeballs, knocking them away, but her head has started to spin and her heartrate has started to rise.

Her breathing becomes labored. _If I keep going like this, I'm going to pass out. I'm still not up to full yet. Why did I come out here?_

"Ryu!" Turning around, Leo is racing towards her with a determined look. "I'm going up," He tells her.

She catches on just in time, threading her hands together and creating a step for him so that she can toss him up as much strength as she can muster. He pulls out his swords, and crosses them into a beam of light so that he can reflect it down at the giant mushroom monster. A second later the light explodes through the room, forcing Ryu to cover her eyes from the bright radiance and then there's a huge eruption that quakes the room. Something slimy and heavy lands on her and she's knocked to the floor.

* * *

"Leo, speak to me bro!" Mikey pleads, "Do you need mouth to mouth?"

Leo's still form flashes to life quickly, "Definitely… _not_." He sits up, Raph patting his back brotherly, and he glances around, "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, whatever you did, you saved us," Raph smiles down at him, "Thanks, man."

Leo returns the smile but then his eyes widen in realization and panic, "Where's Ryu?"

"Ryu?" Raph looks around, spinning on his toe.

April stands to her feet, followed closely by Donnie, and they start calling out for the white haired girl. Nearby, there's a crackling noise that suddenly splits into existence. On the ground if a mound of hardening goop that shifts and trembles from something under it. They all stand up and ready their weapons to fight.

Ryu burst through the top, gasping for air as she pulls off her mask, and angrily flicks off the slime that tries to stick to her hair and face. When she looks up, she finds the whole group just staring at her. "Oh, well, don't any of you rush over to help all at once," She growls.

April and Raph move first, grabbing onto her arms and pulling her free from the slimes grasp, but the second she's on her feet, exhaustion catches up with her and Ryu starts to fall again. Raph wraps an arm around the back of her waist, holding up tightly up against his body, and then pulls her other arm over his shoulders.

"We'd better get her back to Splinter," He says.

They all help her back to their lair where Splinter has her lay down on the dojo floor so that he can heal her. She watches while he closes his eyes and starts to chant; a white glow forming around him unseen to the others except her. Being from the Dragon order, she's been trained in the spiritual lessons, as all the other students were, so she's been able to see people's spirits if they know how to manifest them outside their beings.

When he places his hands, one on her head and the other on her stomach, she can feel the energy fill her again, rejuvenating her. The exhaustion in her limbs is all but erased and after a few minutes she's able to stand again without her head spinning.

"Thank you, Splinter," Ryu smiles.

"No, thank you, for helping my family once more," He bows his head slightly, returning her smile.

Leo swings an arm over Ryu's shoulder and gives her a sideways hug, "Yeah, thanks. You really helped back there."

"All I did was toss you into the air, let's not start polishing a Grammy," Ryu rolls her eyes. They all laugh, but deep down, she feels a tugging at her heart. When did she start thinking of these people as her family?

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	14. Chapter 13: 2-10(Part 2) Raph

_This chapter was written by me and so far it is my absolute favorite! I got to have a bit of fun teasing Raph...which I always find amusing._

 _Hope you enjoy!_

 _I have finished up Ryu's profile reference page and is currently working on the reference pages for our two new characters who will be appearing in Part 2. Here's the link:_

 _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_

 _[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]_

 ** _Review Please!_**

 _-Ravyne_

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _13_**

 ** _2-10.2: "Raph"_**

Ryu blinks in the darkness, the shadows long since adjusted to her sight. She narrows her gaze.

Turned upside down, holding onto the sides of the walls with her legs and arms stretched out as far as they would go, she's able to see the dark tunnel below her and the canal of water flowing along with it.

Everything is still, quiet, unmoving.

 _At least for now_ , Ryu thinks, reaching back with one arm to grab her weapon balancing on the small of her back. Her fingers mesh around the red, bumpy surface tightly to keep it in one hand while she releases her hold on the wall and drops to the floor below. Her legs absorb the impact and just an inaudible tap is heard.

She doesn't move.

The shadows around her are still. The air is motionless. The water is silent. There's no footsteps, no breathing, no sound. Only the occasional _drip, drip, drip_ of a leak somewhere off in the sewers.

Ryu glances in both directions of the tunnel, searching, listening, and finding nothing. The war has only just begun; her enemies can't be too far away.

The hush around her is unnatural, eerie.

Standing to her feet, she presses herself to the side of the tunnel and dares herself one deep, quiet breath. Slow, soundless, still as the grave. Any louder and it could give her away.

She reacts to the attack almost too late, flipping across the waterway to avoid the weapon as it slams into the wall where she once stood with a _pang_ and zipping out of sight just a hair's reach past her cheek. The sound echoes sharply before fading off like a dying whisper. Ryu sprints away with a quiet _whoosh_ , breath caught in her throat, rounding the corner and then silently leaping up the sides of the walls to prop herself high in the shadows of a corner in an overhang in the next tunnel.

Struggling to bring her breathing back under her control, the sewers go dead quiet again, but only for a second. Below, a puddle sits undisturbed. Then the surface breaks as something dark zips by, too fast for the eye to catch; obviously following after the trail it thought she took.

Her gaze narrows again. Her enemy is close. Too close. She waits it out again, refusing to move a muscle; no matter how they start to shake.

This is her only chance to really get any of her style of training in-practice in real live combat.

Ryu presses her lips together, holding her breath, and scans out with her ears. Again, silence has taken hold of the battle field. The air has stilled once more.

It's safe to move. She grabs hold of the edge leading along the top of the tunnel and lowers herself to the floor, this time not taking the chance of making even a small sound; everything echoes down here. Being careful not to disturb the puddle, Ryu squats low to the floor, staying close to the wall in case of another attack, and stares down the dark tunnel in the direction the figure had flown.

There's nothing there now, but she knows her enemy is close. She can feel it.

The hair on her arms is standing on end, warning her of danger in the air.

Something whizzes by and she swings her eyes to the other end of the hall she'd just come from, catching the tail end of a figure. A grin pulls at the side of her mouth, _gotcha._

She races after it, her feet barely making a noise as she runs around the corner after the blur. The tunnel empties out into a round room, the ceiling high and cone shaped, like a bell tower. Wood beams criss-cross above in a random pattern, but she's too focused on the other four tunnels. Each leads off into another direction.

Her enemy could've vanished down anyone of them. Her hand unconsciously squeezes her weapon in her right hand as her frustration rises. She's unaware of the glowing eyes staring down on her from above until a moment later.

Ryu tears her gaze up into the rafters, but the eyes have vanished. Her gut twists, her evolved powers screaming at her to run. She's too exposed here. She needs to find better ground. She speeds off down a tunnel, randomly.

There's another _pang_ , the sound of another similar weapon bouncing off a nearby wall. And it's close. The hair on the back of her neck rises; it's approaching fast. Ryu jumps up, kicks off a wall to turn herself around, and side-kicks the projectile back down the tunnel it had come from at an alarming speed. Down at the end, the figure standing there cries out as their own weapon strikes them straight in the face.

"Yow!" The figure goes down with a splash into a nearby puddle and Ryu waltzes up to them, strides smooth and confident like a predator. She props a hand on her hip and gazes down at her opponent. His hands reach up to rub his nose tenderly as he sits up with a whine, blue eyes watering a little as he looks up at her with a hurt expression, "Did you need to throw it that so hard?"

Ryu throws him a dark sideways grin as she lifts her weapon and lets the red ball spin on her finger tip. The moonlight filtering in from the grate above highlights her features, making her white hair and eyes glow slightly. "All's fair in love and dodgeball, Mikey."

An approaching noise behind her makes her start and Ryu vanishes like smoke into the darkness again.

Mikey remains there on the floor, legs crossed indian-style, as he rubs his nose. Three other dark figures appear before him, their eyes glowing behind their masks. "I'm out guys, she got me," He announces in defeat.

One of the figures grins, red mask highlighted by the moonlight, raises his own dodgeball and props both of his hands onto the sides of it in front of his chest, "Now this gets real."

The figure in blue nods, "She's going down."

"Nuh-uh," Calls a taunting response that chuckles hauntingly through the sewers around them.

They all glance around them uncertainly. "Freaky much," The purple one states.

"Might as well give up, she took my ball. Only two left for you guys…to…use…" Mikey looks up to find the figures already gone and he slaps his hands down into the water puddles around him angrily. "Thanks for nothin'!" He cries.

The figures split up, the purple one exiting his tunnel into a larger room with a deep waterway separating his side of the room from the other, a dangerous current pulling the liquid through one slotted grate and out another. His gaze glares to the other side of the room. A female figure stands there sideway, unmoving; taunting him.

He hurls his weapon, the ball making contact, but instead of a body, a pile of trash bags falls over. He swears under his breath, "What?"

He almost misses the presence that lands behind him from above and when he turns around she's there, her weapon raised, ready to throw. He raises his hands in surrender, but she makes no move to back down.

"You're through."

They both turn to see the blue figure throw his weapon at her but she dodges, throwing herself back into the shadows of the tunnel he'd come from. Things go dead silent once more, only the roar of the waters there to talk over. The blue figure goes to his comrade's side and pats his shoulder.

Out of nowhere, a ball comes flying back out of the tunnel and slams into the purple figure's gut, knocking him to the ground. "Ow!" Donnie groans.

"One ball out of play," The haunting laughter taunts through the halls, "Three remaining. You're gonna lose."

Donnie pats his comrades shoulder and the blue figure races off into the shadows. He stands up and huffs, "Well, at least we know her reflexes are coming back okay."

She ducks behind a corner, letting the darkness eat her alive as footsteps approach. Her good eye peaks around the corner carefully, heart hammering in her chest. If she's not careful the loud beating could give her away. There's three of them left now, but instead of it being a free for all, they've all formed an alliance against her.

She narrows her gaze. _That's fine,_ she thinks, _Just more of a win for me when I beat their butts_.

Gasping, Ryu whirls her head around to find a figure towering over her, ball raised to strike. With just a split second to move, she rolls backwards across the wet floor, slipping under his legs just as his ball _pangs_ against the stone ground. He catches it on the bounce and spins to attack again, but something pulls at his red mask and it slips off over his head. She's gone in a flash, stealing his mask with it; her echoing laughter bouncing off the walls.

He shakes his head, but finds himself smiling a little. This is more fun than he's had in ages.

Ryu waits patiently in the dark rafters above in the next room, slipping the mask over her head so that it hangs loosely around her neck. Her trophy until she has to give it back. She's not really sure why she took it; she could've easily tagged him with her ball. She was just…going with the moment. Biting her lower lip at the memory, Ryu tries to hold in her giggles as a figure enters the room slowly below her. A blue mask tied around his head. Her laughter quickly dies off in her chest as she readies her weapon for another attack.

 _Pang!_

A ball bounces off a nearby rafter, perilously close to her head, and Ryu ducks low on the rafter as she darts her eyes around to find the attacker. It's the former red-masked figure, appearing out of the shadows of the nearby tunnel. He glares right at her, eyes glowing in the dark.

Ryu grins back, flipping back off her rafter to the wet floor and dodging another attack from the blue figure as she dashes off down the tunnel behind her. They both follow after her, keeping hot on her heels with each turn.

 _Keeping this close, I can't take a shot,_ Ryu thinks. _I'll have to lose them or they'll take me out for sure._

Skidding around the next corner, Ryu slips on the wet floor and goes down momentarily. Her elbow bashes hard against the stone, but she ignores the pain to duck into a small, narrow opening in the wall. Two figures blur by a second later around the corner, missing their target hiding in the darkness as they pass. She waits as long as she dares before hurrying back around the corner she'd come from.

Distant voices make her grin to herself, "No, go back!"

 _Bad mistake, boys,_ she thinks. Ryu ducks through the previous room and takes two more prior tunnels back to the first hall she'd started off in, and then skids to a stop in a larger room with a big, underground-pool-like pit in it.

She goes to a corner to her left and leaps behind a pile of junk to wait for their arrival. It comes sooner than she expected, both figures rearmed with ammo. Her eyes narrow at the sight of the weapons; feeling her single ball firm under her palm as she rolls it in a circle on the concrete beside her.

 _Two more, Ryu, you can do this. Stay focused, stay frosty_ , she chants over and over in her mind, slowing her heart beat and breathing as she watches the two figures scan the room for her form.

The blue figure turns to the former red and makes a small motion with his hand; Ryu's eyes twitch suspiciously and her hand stops rolling the ball. Faster than what she is ready for, the blue figure races at her at a great speed and she jumps at the last second into the air as he hurls his ball over the top of the pile at her.

Time seems to almost slow as his eyes widen up at her. Ryu kicks off the wall behind her and leap frogs over him, throwing the ball with both hands down at him as she performs a spilt in the air. It slams into the back of his shell sharply.

 _Pang!_

Leo falls forward from the attack and lands on his belly across the pile of junk. Ryu lands on the floor behind him in a squat, catching the ball that falls from above, and then stands up to face the final figure. Rubbing his forehead, Leo stands up and pats her shoulder with a defeated smile, "Good luck, Raph."

Raph's grin falls as he follows his brother with his eyes in shock, "What, no encouragement?"

"You're gonna lose, dude!" Mikey calls from his seat across the room. Leo sits down beside his two other defeated brothers, hanging his legs over the side of the pit just like them to watch the final battle. At the edge of the pit, Splinter watches his pupils by their side with an attentive expression.

"I am not going to lose to a girl," Raph announces, turning back to face Ryu as he raises his ball over his head.

Ryu throws him a sideways grin, lifting her own ball in response and twirling it on her fingertip, "So I can't cry if you win."

"Sure," he grins back, "You can cry on my shoulder."

Her smile widens at his self-confidence.

"You gonna give me that back first?" He asks, motioning towards his mask that she wears around her neck.

Ryu reaches up with her free hand to finger it, raising her eyes brows and mocking deep thought, but then answers, "No, I think I'll keep my trophy."

"Trophy, huh?"

"Don't like that?" She grins, "Then come take it back."

He throws his weapon fast and it ricochets off the wall behind her where she once stood. Raph quickly rolls over to floor to retrieve it. Something whizzes by over his head and he's forced to flatten himself against the floor to avoid it.

Ryu stands below in the pit, catching the ball that she'd thrown as it bounces back to her. She props it against her hip and smirks up at him, "Lying down on the job, Raph? You must be getting tired. Do you need to take a nappy-poo?"

Raph scoffs, leaping to his feet, and flips down into the pit. She vanishes as he lands and he back up into the center of the pit so that he can look around the room. His brothers have gotten really quiet, almost too quiet, especially Mikey.

He twists around fast, throwing his dodgeball and Ryu has to break her run at him to jump away. She lands, breathing heavy, and glares at him, "I guess you're not as tired as you let on. That's mean, Raph, trying to distract me like that. I was really worried about you there for a second."

Raph runs to pick up his ball and smirks at her, "Only a second? And here I thought you actually cared."

"Stop flirting already and throw the ball!" Mikey cries from overhead. Raph's ball suddenly slaps into his face and Mikey flops back, out cold.

"Bad move, Raph!"

Turning back in realization, he faces Ryu's form racing straight at him. Why had he let his anger get the best of him again? Ryu jumps into the air, pulling her arm back to throw her ball, and time slows for another moment. His thoughts float back to what Mikey had just said:

" _Stop flirting already and throw the ball!_ "

Had he really been flirting? His eyes widen in surprise. Since when did he know how to flirt? He's lived in the sewers all his life; he doesn't exactly have that much experience with girls. Except with April, but she's just a friend so she doesn't really count.

When time comes back on, Ryu is hurling the ball at him and Raph rolls to avoid it. It bounces off two walls in a corner and he snatches it out of the air before she can get to it. They slide to a stop, facing each other, both breathing hard. Their eyes watch each other cautiously, Ryu's eyes pacing between his and the ball he holds.

Since he threw his ball to shut Mikey up, now only one ball is left in play.

 _Careful, Ryu,_ she tells herself, _You can't lose to him…_

Raph yells as he races forward, lifting the ball to throw it, ready to end the game. Ryu starts to run forward as well, but falters in her steps. Stumbling to a stop, she grabs her head and sways.

"Ugh!" Ryu bends over at her waist and props on hand on her thigh to hold herself up.

Raph hesitates, worry tightening his chest, and he jogs to a stop two feet from her, "Ryu, are you-?"

Something flies down from above; Ryu catches it abruptly in her hand and then stands back up with a mocking smirk.

"Thanks a lot, guys!" Raph growls up at his brothers who are suddenly rolling in laughter.

"Oh, don't lie, Raph, I knew you cared more than you let on," Ryu laughs sarcastically.

Raph chucks the ball he holds with a grunt and it tears at her chest. Ryu steps back in alarm and holds out her ball in defense. The ball bounces off hers, soaring into the air above her a few feet and she catches it on the down fall. She holds them both up with a smile.

"You sure you don't want to give up now?" She offers.

"No way, I'm just starting to warm up," He grins.

Ryu shrugs, "Your funeral."

Raph runs at her once more and she throws a ball at him. He jumps up to avoid where it hits at his feet, moving so fast Ryu has to do a double take, but then he flips and lands on the ground again before continuing his sprint.

Remembering how she took out Leo, Ryu decides to try that same attack and spins on her heel to sprint towards the wall behind her. She gets two good strides up the wall, kicks off, and pulls back her arm to throw.

But he's suddenly not there.

 _What the-?!_ Ryu lands in a roll and starts to stand up to turn around, but he just blinks back into existence right in front of her and, with a triumphant smirk, taps the ball on her forehead.

"Yamete!"

The war is over just like that, leaving Ryu speechless as to what just happened. Her jaw hangs open in outright shock and confusion, her eyes falling to the ground as she tries to process the events in her head.

"Huh?!"

Raph chuckles and musses her hair on her head, "Don't think too hard about it Ryu. I'm sure it'll catch back up to you in a few days."

Ryu sets her jaw and turns her head to glare at him, "Yeah, yeah, keep laughing. Payback's gonna hurt."

"Right, right, now about this…" Raph fingers his mask and then slowly lifts it off over her head, a few loose strands of her hair, twisted back in a tight bun for the game, shifting to move with the red fabric. She's not sure why, but her pulse quickens in response; the moment seems a bit too friendly for the action. Ryu squeezes her eyes shut tightly, lowering her face, as he slips the mask off gently and returns it to his face.

"You all did well in this exercise. I just may adopt this new form of training that Ryu has suggested," Splinter tells his pupils as they walk the dark tunnels back to the lair.

The turtles all cheer, giving each other their signature 'high-threes' as they stroll. "Ryu, what's wrong with you? Celebrate!" Mikey says, leaning over her shoulder from behind and poking at her cheek curiously. "What are you thinking so hard about?"

They all come to a sudden stop when she does and Ryu turns to face them all with a deeply confused look, "Does anyone else feel like we forgot something?"

A dodgeball flies out of the shadows like a bolt of lightning, zapping past all of them, and smashes into Raph's face dead center.

It falls to the floor at his feet, the only sound in the silent tunnel; not even the water dares to drip. They all stare in disbelief, eyes glancing between Raph's face to the ball on the floor. Already red from the attack, his skin get more and more red by the second as the time ticks by.

Surprise turns to wary, anxious tension as they all wait for him to explode. But he's not given the chance when April comes skipping out of the shadows in her own little victory dance.

"Whoo!" She exclaims, "I got you! Ha! I win!"

Raph's eye widen in shock, his jaw going slack, "Where did you come from? How did-? When-? Wait-? WHAT?!"

April continues dancing off down the tunnel happily, ignore Raph's unsuccessful attempt at finding words, and everyone turns from her to Raph.

"What just happened?" He gaps, staring after the redhead.

"I'll tell you what happened, bro," Mikey starts, wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"You just got beat by a girl," Ryu finishes.

They all burst into laughter, walking off down the tunnel. Ryu pauses a few seconds behind to wrap her arm through Raph's to move him out of his frozen state.

"Don't worry," She grins, "You can cry on my shoulder if you need to."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	15. Chapter 14: 2-11 Metalhead Rewired

**Yay. New chapter. Woo-hoo. I'm actually getting bored of the first part. All the good stuff happens in the second part.**

 **Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _14_**

 ** _2-11: "Metalhead Rewired"_**

Ryu squats next to the metal table next to Mikey, both of their chins rest on their folded arms on the table top as they watch in fascination while Donnie works. Her eyes follow his movements as he tightens bolts, secures wires, and closes the top hatch on the machine's head. She tilts her head slightly in curiosity.

"Alright, he's ready to go," Donnie smiles down at his work proudly.

"Awesome, let's go! I wanna see him work!" Ryu jumps up excitedly and bounces on her toes.

"Can he cook pizza?!" Mikey grins, copying Ryu.

They both throw him a look.

"What? He'd be perfect then!"

"Pizza's bad for you, Mikey. It's junk food."

Mikey leaps back, making a cross with his fingers at Ryu, "Evil!"

Ryu glares at him as she and Donnie pass him with the robot walking between them. Back in the dojo, Ryu removes her shoes outside and they all greets Splinter with a smile. She then proceeds to climb up the tree to the lowest branch to watch the show. Donnie had told her about the robot he had made which he dubbed 'Metalhead' and that today he'd try out his newest updates in training.

She grins as she lifts the apple she'd swiped from the kitchen to her mouth. The green skin breaks under her teeth and the sweet tangy juice spits out.

"Guys, meet the new and improved Metalhead!" Donnie announces proudly.

"Still looks like a worthless pile of metal to me," Raph rolls his eyes.

Donnie glares at him and presses a button on the small remote control in his hands, "I'll just let this worthless pile of metal do the talking. Metalhead, begin training program."

Metalhead's eyes blink and then the machine whirls as he takes a fighting stance. The turtles pull out their weapons and start circling the robot, ready to attack. Ryu leans forward a little in anticipation.

The battle starts and Metalhead attacks, knocking Raph away with a simple punch, grabs Leo's sword and kicks him away before throwing him a thumbs down, seizes Donnie's staff and spins him off in another direction followed by firing a rain of lasers, and then fires eye rocket at Mikey's approach before shooting his hand at his face.

Ryu tries to contain her laughter, pressing her lips together, but a few snickers escape against her will.

"Yamete!"

Splinter's call has everyone falling in line in front of him in the proper bow on their knees, Ryu leaping down from the branch to lean against the tree trunk, but Metalhead's hand still drags Mikey around the room with him screaming.

"Ahh! Can I get off the ride now?" Mikey cries.

"Donatello," Splinter warns.

Donnie turns to Metalhead and orders him to shut down his training program, effectively freeing Mikey from the robot's deadly grasp.

"Donatello has created a powerful tool, one that will do well to teach us how to fight our enemies, but it is to be used wisely. This new training style can help you learn to adapt to your enemies attacks even if you do not have your weapon with you," Splinter explains.

"How can we learn to adapt if Metalhead keeps trying to rip our faces off?" Leo asks.

"Or breaking stuff," Raph adds.

Donnie glares at them, crossing his arms angrily.

"You can always adapt. A ninja is able to turn anything around him into a weapon. You four know this," Splinter turns to Ryu and folds his hands behind his back. "Would you care to demonstrate?"

Ryu chokes on her apple, coughing up in alarm, "Me?"

"You once spoke of you home village and how they taught strictly on the lesson of adaptation."

Swallowing, Ryu thinks off into her thoughts. Sure they had stressed on that lesson before sending them out on missions, but… Ryu shrugs slowly, her expression uncertain. Can she even fight him in her condition? She's not even really back up to full strength yet. The last time she'd fought against him was when she was twelve and she made a complete embarrassment of herself. Would she have a chance this time around to maybe, possibly, land a hit?

Splinter walks to the other side of the room and Ryu takes the side closest to the tree. She takes a deep, steadying breath and closes her eyes to center herself in the moment. This technique she learned early on after her _change_ , a way to mold her spiritual energies to a center point in her mind and calm herself into a fighting presence. In this way, she is able to fight at a faster speed, attentive on the battle, and less likely to falter in her steps. This technique is known as 'the step before achieving _Razitsu_ ', for lack of better words; an ancient technique that rarely can be achieved. Sadly, with Ryu's easily scattered attention, she's brought out of the focus effortlessly a lot of times. Ryu has only known one person to ever learn _Razistu_ and now he's the leader of their village, of all the Dragon order.

"Choose your weapon," Splinter calls, pulling Ryu out of her thoughts. She opens her eyes; he's already waiting for her to attack. She glances off to her right and eyes Donnie's staff but before she can ask to borrow it, Splinter rushes at her and leaves her only a second to flip over Donnie's shoulders and pull it off his back.

"Borrowing!" She calls as she blocks Splinter's jab at her head. Donnie yelps and rolls up into his shell, scared of being hit. Ryu isn't expecting Splinter's attack to be so heavy, pushing her back a few inches and straining her arms against his strength.

He takes a moment to pull back and attack again, but this time she's ready for it. She swings out the bow staff at his mid-section and Splinter jumps back to avoid it, giving her enough time to press the end of the staff into the floor to flip back over the turtles into the center of the dojo floor. When she stands up, Splinter has vanished.

Tightening her grip on the staff, her knees loosen and her eyes stay on a swivel. There's no telling where he is with his speed. There's no telling if she'll be able to even sense him coming. She spins the staff in her hands absentmindedly.

That's when he strikes, falling in from above.

 _Shoot!_ Ryu rolls across the floor to avoid him, barely missing the end of his own staff as he slaps it against the floor where she was. Her head swirls a bit as she stands and she shakes it to rid herself of the vertigo, facing him still to keep fighting. They circle each other.

"Switch," Splinter orders, racing at her. Blinking in surprise, Ryu flips the staff into Donnie's hands and skids around Leo's side to grab one of his blades off the floor beside him. She brings the blade up over her shoulder to quickly to protect her head and the metal carves into the wood of his staff as he brings it down on her skull. Her arms flex from the impact and barely keep the staff from connecting with her head…by an inch.

Sighing heavily in relief, Ryu takes a split second before spinning up off her knees to defend her back when he swings again. He repeatedly swings at her over and over, forcing her to do nothing but block his attacks with the blade. Being unused to the weight of the sword and the years she's not been able to train with him, Ryu can feel herself loosing this battle. She senses the wall a few feet behind her before actually reaching it and Ryu pushes Splinter back with one last burst of strength and kicks off of it to flip over him. She can't afford to be backed into a corner; if she's going to lose then she's not going to lose by getting trapped. That's a rooky mistake.

Ryu lands and stumbles back a few steps as her legs shake from the impact; she's getting weaker by the second, breathing harder and harder until her lungs are on fire. _Dang it,_ she screams in her thoughts, _why am I still getting weak so fast? Just what is wrong with me?!_

As she raises the blade towards him, readying for his next attack, Splinter lowers his staff and folds his hands on top of it. "You are getting better," He tells her, eyeing her legs. Ryu glances down at them and finds them visibly trembling under her terribly.

Frustrated, Ryu grinds her teeth and lets them fail, dropping to the floor to sit on them. Better to hide them under her to avoid any more embarrassment. She places the sword down on the floor in front of her and glares down at her hands, focusing on pulling her labored breathing back under her control.

Splinter walks up to her, picking up the blade, and rests his hand on her head, "You did well."

Ryu squeezes her eyes shut against the anger welling up in her chest. No, she didn't do well. She should've been able to fight longer. She should've done better.

When Metalhead starts blaring out an alarm, Ryu barely hears it. She faintly listens to Donnie saying that something tripped the security and then Splinter telling them to look into it before they all stand to leave.

Raph is the last to walk out, glancing back over his shoulder to look at Ryu. Her eyes are still closed, still squeezed shut as if she's fighting to hold something in, something she doesn't want anyone to see.

When they leave, Ryu waits a long moment for them to get far enough away and for Splinter to put away his staff back on the hangers on the wall to slip out of the room. She grabs her boots by the door, crosses the room, and jumps up to grab the spiraling ramp hanging like a make-shift chandelier above their living space. The ramp goes up to another area above the roof, but she doesn't go that far. Instead she sits down by her pile of stuff laid out on the flat just at the bottom of the ramp. Ryu hasn't gotten around to pulling up her hammock yet, seeing as there aren't many areas to do so in the lair, but she has plenty of blankets with her to roll out under her when she sleeps.

It's now that she rolls out her bedding and lies out across it to stare up at the bottom of the ramp circling above her. For a long time she just sits there and breathes, hoping that she'll get tired enough to sleep; maybe that's what she needs. Sleep doesn't come though. She's not even the least bit tired, it's just her body, her muscles.

Her phones buzzes from inside her bag and she reaches back over her head without looking to dig around inside for it. The screen is blinking, a new message from her guardians.

 **You have not checked in.**

Her eyes widen in horror. How could she have forgotten all about that?! Her fingers fly across her keys in a blur and she sends a reply as fast as possible that would go to her computer back at the base before being sent off to them: **Just busy. All is going as well as it can.**

Their reply is almost as instant, maybe a few seconds off, but it could just be the poor connection down here: **And your target?**

Ryu bites her lip, so far she hasn't seen any signs of her target, but then again she hasn't really been up to the surface in a while. She types her reply a few moments later: **No signs, but still vigilant**.

"Hey, Ryu!"

She jerks up, stuffing her phone in her bag before it can be seen, and waves to April as she comes in. "Did you skip school today?"

"No," April laughs sheepishly.

Ryu jumps down and props her hand on her hip, throwing her a look.

"Okay, I'm skipping a few hours, but I really want to get a little practice in today before I go home to study. I've got a huge test tomorrow and I'm only going to be able to train for an hour today before I cram."

Ryu raises an eyebrow as they walk back to the dojo, "I thought cramming at the last second was bad? You know it's better to take your time studying so that you actually remember the material, right?"

April takes off her shoes, mimicking Ryu, then heads into the dojo room, "Yes, but when am I ever going to need history?"

"Knowing your past can help you better map out your future."

Both of the girls jump as Splinter appears out of nowhere, "Geez, you've got to make a noise before you do that." Ryu grabs her chest to hold her heart inside her as she breathes a sigh.

Splinter and April train for an hour while Ryu watches from her branch in the tree and then she has to leave again. She hands Ryu a bag before she goes, throwing her an impish looking grin as she does. Ryu, too afraid to even look in the bag, sets it out next to her stuff and forces herself to forget about it. Her favorite spot, the ledge outside the dojo that overlooks the waterway, welcomes her as she sits down to meditate.

After a while, she's unable to hold her eyes open for some reason so she climbs back up to the spiral ramp and lies down. She's stirred not long later by the turtles returning to the lair and she opens her eyes long enough to watch them enter the lab before closing them right back to let sleep take her once more. But then…

"WHOA!"

Ryu shoots straight up from the platform bed and leans over the side just as Donnie is shot from the lab and comes out with his shell smoking.

"Okay Donnie, it's late," Leo groans, "Give it a rest."

"I've almost got it!" Donnie assures him. "I'm just working out the bugs and-WHOA!" Two lasers come zipping out of the lab, making them both duck as they fly by, and then blow up across the room. Donnie lowers his welding mask with new determination and heads back into the lab. Ryu rolls her eyes and flips back into bed, covering her head with her pillow in annoyance.

A few moments later, Donnie screams again, but this time it's different. Ryu doesn't move though. Whatever it is, the turtles can handle it. She'll step in if they all start yelling like that. And a while later, they are.

"Locked!"

"Open this door, you over sized toaster!"

Ryu sits up in bed and glares out across the room towards the wall, taking deep centering breaths to calm herself. When she finally wakes up enough to jump down, Splinter is walking across to the lab, woken up as well. And he does not look happy.

 _Well, neither am I_ , she thinks. They both go to the lab doors and he tears them open.

"Do you boys have any idea what time it is?" He demands.

"Um…pizza time?" Mikey grins sheepishly.

Ryu rolls her eyes and gets ready to go back to bed, but another weird feeling comes over her. This one is different, softer, kind of like someone is pricking her with a needle in the back of her neck.

 _ **Follow…**_

Her eyes dart to her left towards the entrance. Just over the turnstiles, she can see the top of the Shellraiser, but she can also see something else moving off. It's Metalhead, kicking off the edge of the ramp and flying off with his rocket feet. Ryu narrows her gaze in suspicion. Just what is that robot up to?

"The truth is, sensei…we've to meet April…"

Ryu doesn't hear the rest of it, she's too focus on the feeling sinking into her gut.

 _ **Follow…**_

 _Follow what?_ , she wonders.

"We'll be back before dawn! Don't wait up for us!" Leo tells him as he and his brothers race out of the lab towards the exit.

Splinter shakes his head, "Teenagers."

Ryu chuckles and then goes back up to her bed where her boots wait. There's no way she's sitting this out; something's wrong and she wants to find out what. The second her boots are on, she makes sure Splinter is out of sight and then quickly slips out of the lair. The Shellraiser is just starting to pull away when she does. Grabbing onto the back, Ryu holds on tight for the ride; it's not exactly comfortable, but it's not like she can just knock on the door and ask the turtles to let her in. They'd leave her here for sure.

Hanging onto the back is almost impossible with Leo's driving skills; she'd have to have a talk with him about that later. When they finally swerve around another tight corner, nearly throwing Ryu to the street side, Leo parks the Shellraiser in a dark alleyway surrounded by old apartment building that are obviously being refurbished. The turtles vanish around the corner and Ryu pulls her cramped legs off the back to climb to the ground. She stays behind them as far as she dares until they finally come to a line of port-a-potties and she raises an eyebrow from behind the dumpster where she hides.

 _What the heck are they doing here?_

Leo opens the door, but there's nothing inside. When Mikey checks for something and comes out gagging for breath, Ryu starts to wonder if these boys are sane, but when he opens it back up, the toilet is gone and a swirling pink-purple vortex is in its place.

 _Or not…_ Ryu's eyes pop wide in surprise. Hadn't there been a toilet there a second ago?

Every time Mikey goes to open the door, the vortex appears, but when another of the boys opens it, there's just a normal toilet. Ryu grows suspicious, glancing at Mikey. Is it possible Mikey has an extra sense? It would explain a lot, but there's really only one way Ryu knows of to find out and that person is nowhere around for her to ask.

Mikey finally opens the door the final time and Donnie pokes his finger in to test it…only to be pulled in against his will. His brother's latch on to him to try and pull him out, but the vortex has hold of him and it's not letting him go. Gasping, Ryu jumps to her feet and goes to help them, but by the time she reaches them, her fingers just miss Raphael's arm. She's got no choice but to go after them...but she hesitates.

How would she get back?

 _Who cares? My friends are in trouble and that's all that matters_ , Ryu shakes her head, takes a deep breath, and jumps in.

* * *

She's not too sure where she's landed, but where ever it is, she doesn't like it. As she sits up, she finds herself on a floating round platform overlooking a computer lab far down below. A computer lab that's crawling with Kraang.

 _Joy, just my luck I'd fall into…where am I?_ , Ryu looks up and glances around, finding other floating round platforms hovering around her, each with a mutant sealed inside some kind of force field. _I have got to ask Donnie what all this mutant business is about; it's high time I know_.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the little coward, Ryu."

Ryu turns her head to look up at the force field behind her and into the eyes of Slash; poor guy is still a towering mass of muscles. Ryu swallows, remembering the pain from their battle.

Slash grins down at her, "Still hiding away from battle, sweetheart?"

Ryu scoffs and stands up to meet his gaze, "I just landed here, you moron. Didn't you notice the big swirling vortex hanging over you or are you that blind?"

Slash glances up at it but then returns his glare to hers, "Tough words for someone standing behind a wall."

"Who's standing behind a wall? I'm on the outside."

"Yeah, you're free to run away."

Ryu locks her jaw and sets her fist on the shield threateningly, "Listen you-!"

"Hey, fellas! Lookin' for her?" Slash suddenly calls out louder towards the other hovering jail cells and that's when Ryu spots the Kraang sentries posted around the area like watch dogs. They all turn to her and raise their weapons; Ryu puts her back to Slash's cell and counts each of the Kraang bots with her eyes.

 _Perfect, and me without a weapon_ , she whines nervously.

"You could always run off with your tail between your legs, just like you always do," Slash provokes from behind her.

Ryu lets his words soak in for the first time and she turns to stare down at the computer room far below where the turtles have just emerged. All of them, Raph, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey, are all here fighting for the better…

Ryu turns to glare at him, "Not while my family is here."

His eyes widen in surprise, but she doesn't wait around to hear his response. The Kraang start firing there weapons at her, Ryu dodging to flip off the platform to the floor below, but strangely enough she notices that the ammo isn't lasers like normal. As she lands, the turtles turn around to eye her in shock.

"Uh…hi," Ryu smiles sheepishly.

"What are you doing here?" Raph demands.

Ryu's smiles just widens, "Uh…hi?"

Raph groans and steps in front of her as a horde of Kraang approach, "You're just going to get hurt. You're not up to any of this yet, so just go home."

"What?" Ryu gasps, "I can help! You guys hold off the lame excuse for aliens and I'll take care of…whatever it is you guys are doing here."

Donnie grabs her hand, "We've got to get Mr. O'Neal out of here so you can help me with the computer."

"Guys, keep the Kraang off them so they can work. Donnie, work fast," Leo orders.

"Sure, no pressure or anything," Donnie growls, "Metalhead, we've got to get Mr. O'Neal's cell open."

The short, turtle-like machine nods up at him and makes a few beeps as he reaches out and plugs one of his fingers into the computer system. Ryu goes to one of the touchpads, the screen spinning with unknown symbols and she twiddles her fingers in the air confused, "You know, I never thought to take alien as my second language in high school."

"I'll show you later," Donnie calls as he works on the other keyboard.

"You speak alien?" Ryu drop her hands in amazement.

"Well, read it, actually. I've picked up a little since I've had to translate so much of it."

"Whoa," Ryu jerks back as a Kraang bot raises its gun at her chest, "Yipes!" She grabs hold of the gun, turns so that the gun is twisted free of the bot's hands, and then jabs her elbow into the Kraang's face to push him away. Newly armed, Ryu aims the weapon at a bot attacking Mikey and fires. The gun kicks harder than she expects and she's knocked back into the key board. She's not sure what she hit, but something dings and then suddenly all the cells open around the room.

"You did it!" Donnie exclaims, smiling up at the mutants that walk free out of their cells. Nearby, Ryu eyes one Kraang bot just standing there with some kind of remote in its hand and she narrows her eyes suspiciously.

The other turtles run up to join them and Leo pats Donnie shoulder, "Nice job, you two."

Ryu ignores him, too interested in that remote to hear what he's saying, "I don't…think I did that."

"What do you mean?" Donnie asks.

Suddenly the mutants released jump to the floor and run at them.

"Nope," Ryu cries, "I didn't do that."

"The ones that are turtles that I call frogs must be destroyed!" A mutant that looks like a giant spider yells before they all attack. Ryu and the turtles scatter, leaving Metalhead to work on the computer. Raph grabs Ryu's arm and pulls her behind him as another Kraang shots at them, but Ryu kicks another bot away that approaches from behind him.

"You see?" She glares at him, "I can take care of myself."

Just as Raph opens his mouth to argue, Ryu spots another Kraang raising its weapon and she pushes him out of the way as the bullet hits her head. Weird thing is, it doesn't go through her. Ryu sits up off her back where she landed and goes to rub her forehead, but her fingers brush into something foreign and metallic across her flesh.

"What the-?" Ryu is about to grab it but pauses, glancing across the room at the spider mutant that had yelled, his forehead covered by something metallic as well, and her eyes widen. "Oh, no."

Dread turns her blood to ice.

"Ryu," Raph is rushing over to her, but in a panic she pushes him away just as the Kraang nearby presses the remote again. The contraption on her head blasts a frequency into her head, one that she can only hear, and her mind goes instantly blank in shock. She grabs the side of her head, drops to her knees, and fights against the sonic war going on in her skull. The frequency is like a thousand razor blade, slicing each thought before it can be made, and squeezing her brain until it feels like it's going to explode. Her heartbeat pounds loudly in her ears, her breathing nearly stopping in her chest.

Someone screams at her, something touches her shoulder. Deep inside, she can feel her power suddenly stir, growing in her chest and building into a sound that she's never heard; her sound. Throwing back her head, Ryu releases the sound before it can shatter her to pieces, screaming with all her heart and soul as if she'd never screamed before in her life.

It rocks the very air around them all, sending tremors throughout the room.

Around her the fights stop, all the mutants under the Kraang's control grabbing their own heads or going to their knees. The whole computer lab shakes, the alien metal everywhere, bowing and jerking from some unknown force.

The turtles watch it bend and groan in shock, but Raph stares at Ryu for a long moment as they cover their ears against her scream. Is she doing this?

The Kraang nearest her, fights against its flailing limbs that are sparking and beginning to short out, and raises its gun at her. Raph gasps and runs at her, wrapping his arms around her waist and tackling her to the floor just as a hail of lasers fly past them. The Kraang keeps firing at them, though now the shots are randomly bouncing around the room, and Raph tucks Ryu close to his chest and rolls a little to keep her mostly buried under him. Her body is stiff and shaking terribly, but then suddenly the room stops seizing and all the devices on the controlled mutants pop off their heads. Ryu suddenly goes limp under him.

"Ryu?" Raph sits up and takes her into his arms, gathering her against his chest and cradling her head close to the side of his neck. "Come on, wake up! Don't do this again."

Her breathing levels out and she sighs heavily, "R-Raph?"

"Hold on. I'll get you out," He lifts her into his arms and stands up just as his brothers come jogging over.

"We have to get out of here," Donnie says, "Whatever that was, it's set off a chain reaction in the system." He points off at the computer in the center of the room; it's sparking and shorting out just like all the Kraang around them. "This place is going to blow any second."

"Metalhead, can you open us a portal?" Leo calls to the robot that somehow wasn't effected by the sound. Metalhead raises his free hand and gives him a thumbs up. "Alright, let's move, people, mutants too. We're all getting out."

Ryu lifts her head, "I can walk now. I just got a headache. I'm fine."

Raph sets her down easy on the floor, but as she puts the weight on her knees, he can see how badly her calve shake under her. He turns around quickly and hauls her up onto his back.

"What are you doing? I can walk fine," Ryu argues.

"No you can't, stop being an idiot. You knew you weren't at full health and yet you still came here anyway. That's the stupidest move you could've ever pulled," Raph growls back.

Ryu glares at the back of his neck, "I can take care of my-!"

"Just shut up already. Stop being so stubborn and just let me take care of you."

Ryu's words dry up in her throat and her mind goes completely blank. His words echo in her head, beating in time with her thundering heart. She's not sure if it's from the recent attack on her head or his words that have her heart rate in chaos right now, but she does know that it's beating faster than it ever has.

 _Get your act together, Ryu. He's just being mean. He doesn't…_

"Let's move, people," Leo orders and Ryu tightens her hold around Raph's neck as he starts jumping back and forth from one floating platform to another, following after the horde of mutants herding to the newly reopened portal. Near the top, they all stop as Leo calls back down to the computer room below, "Metalhead, let's go."

Metalhead looks up at them and makes a few beeping noises. Donnie's face becomes worried, "He has to keep the portal open for us."

"But," Ryu pauses to glance down at the small robot, "He'll…be stuck here." Ryu returns her eyes to Donnie across from her, "He won't make it out."

Donnie turns his gaze to his feet sadly, "I know."

Leo and Mikey jump out the portal first, followed closely by Raph and Ryu, but Donnie stays behind a bit longer to glance back at Metalhead. The robot looks back up and gives Donnie a thumbs up which Donnie in turn returns with a sad smile.

He jumps back through the portal just as Metalhead fires on the shorting computer and the whole place explodes.

* * *

Ryu cries out as she hits the pavement, rolling over and over until she finally stops on her belly, and then forces her sore limbs to push her up to a sitting position. A few feet away, the other turtles are beginning to do the same and she spots the object almost as quickly as Donnie does. He rushes forward and picks up the metal object in his hands and cradles it in his lap. They all stand up and go to his side, staring down at what was once Metalhead's head.

Ryu lowers her head in regret. Raph was right, she shouldn't have come. Maybe if she had trained harder, gotten herself stronger, then maybe she could've stopped this.

"Dude, he saved us," Mikey says.

"He saved all of us," Leo corrects him, "You were right, Donnie, I should've trusted you."

"I programed him to be intelligent, but I didn't realized how much he had evolved," Donnie responds sadly. He stands up and starts to walk away, carrying Metalhead's head with him, but Mikey grabs his shoulder to stop him.

"Donnie, I'm sorry about Metalhead, bro. I didn't really mind it when he grabbed my face, his hands were soft…for a robot," The younger turtles smiles.

Ryu smiles gently at the shorter turtle, thinking how adorable his expression is, but deep down she starts to get that lonely feeling in her heart again. Just watching the brothers interacting with each other often brought the feelings up in her chest, but she could always subdue it. At times like these, though, it's a bit harder.

"Thanks, Mikey," Donnie returns.

"Do you think you'll try building another Metalhead?" Leo asks, pulling Ryu out of her thoughts.

Donnie gazes down at Metalhead's head again, taking a deep breath, "Maybe I will…one day."

Ryu fiddles her fingers inside the pockets of her jeans, staring down at her shoes. Already her mind is soaring with ideas that could work for a new Metalhead. When she looks back up, she turns to walk with the group back to the Shellraiser, thinking, _Donnie, I promise, no matter how long it takes, I'll make sure you see the day when Metalhead walks by your side again._

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	16. Chapter 15: 2-11(Part 2) Ryu

**So ready for the end of this part. I really can't wait to post the sequel to this.**

 **Also, Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _15_**

 ** _2-11.2: "Ryu"_**

Ryu sighs from her place on the couch as she stares at the pictures flipping across the TV. She'd been unable to sleep so she came down from her perch above to watch something until her eyes finally started to fall out of her skull. So far, she hasn't been so lucky.

 _Who knows, I may not sleep again tonight_ , Ryu sighs and drops her head on her knees, _Yay…_

"Ryu?"

She looks up at Leo drops next to her on the couch, Mikey sits at her feet, Donnie takes the beanbag chair next to him, and Raph takes the couch to her left side. "Shouldn't you all be in bed?" Ryu sighs.

"Yes, but we heard the TV," Leo shrugs.

"We thought you could use some company," Mikey finishes with a grin.

Ryu smiles back at him as best as she can, but even she can feel that it doesn't reach her eyes.

Leo puts a hand on her shoulder, "Listen, Ryu, what Raph said to you might have been a little harsh,"

"Heh," Raph scoffs.

"But he was right…in a way."

"Yeah, he was just too shy to put it in a nicer way," Mikey chuckles.

"That or he just doesn't have the brain capacity to do so," Donnie beams at his older brother.

Raph starts to go to smack him, but Ryu grabs his hand and pats it gently with a return smile at Donnie, "Thank you Don, I appreciate that."

"You really shouldn't have gone tonight, Ryu, it was dangerous."

Ryu turns to Leo and nods, "I know that, but…" She lets her voice die, releasing Raph's hand, and wraps her arms around her legs tightly, "I've just felt so useless since…whatever April did to me. Before I was always used to having my power, and not just for fighting but for comfort too. It was…just…always there before, like a friend I could carry with me. Now, it just feels like there's a hole in my chest."

"How do you know it's gone?" Donnie asks.

"Because I can't hear the song anymore," She explains.

"Song?" Mikey scratches his head, "I didn't know power had a song."

"Not my power, the earth."

"Idiot," Raph thumps Mikey on the nose, gently, effectively getting Ryu to smile a little.

"So you can't hear any…songs?" Donnie continues.

Ryu shakes her head, burying her face into her knees again, "Just this strange one I've never heard before. It's been different since April did something to me. When I was training with Splinter before, I felt something different, like, instead of being just like a second skin under my own as it had been, this song was… _inside_ me. As if my power somehow got changed into something else; I don't know this song."

"Then why not just listen to it," Mikey state, his expression serious.

"It's not that kind of song, genius," Raph grumbles.

"Well, how am I supposed to know?! It seems pretty simple to me…" Mikey rants, but their argument trails off into Ryu's ears. She thinks about what Mikey said, completely shocked by just how...easy it sounded.

 _Why_ _ **not**_ _just listen to it? Maybe Mikey is right. It may not be a song I know because it has just simply…evolved…_ Ryu stands up suddenly, shutting off their argument, "Mikey...you're a genius!"

Mikey pauses for a second but then smiles, "LTD! Like a turtle do!"

"Please tell me you're joking?" Donnie asks as Ryu steps around him and then jumps to grab the edge of the spiral ramp above and pulls herself up high enough to be able to grab the metal sphere from under her pillow. She may not have been able to use it as she used to, but she could still throw it at an intruder and cause some major damage.

When she drops back down to the floor, the turtles have stood up and now surround her curiously. Ryu just smiles, sets the sphere on the floor and then sits down indian-style about a foot away from it. The turtles sit down around her to watch quietly while Ryu shuts her eyes and takes a deep centering breath.

Her heartrate slows, her breathing calms, and slowly she sinks into the meditation state that Splinter had taught her. Her heart fades off in her chest as the beat beyond that gets louder and louder, calling to her with the strange song she doesn't know. Ryu pulls it closer and closer, letting the sound build up inside her until she can feel it pulse throughout her entire body.

 _This is different. Last time is forced out into a bright light_ , Ryu thinks. Her thoughts travel back to earlier that night at the Kraang detention cell when she had been overcome with that same sound and it broke out of her in so much power. _I guess I must have broken something again…or at least broke something loose._

She breathes again, brushing her consciousness against the power, letting the song move through her, blend with her, intermingle until she can't tell where she starts or the song begins. The feeling is so full of joy and reunion that Ryu can feel the emotions all the way from her toes to the crown of her head.

Laughter suddenly breaks out around her and she's pulled out of her meditation. Drawing her brows together, Ryu turns her glare on Donnie to her left angrily since his laughter is the loudest, "Guys, I can't concentrate with you laughing."

But instead, they just laugh louder, Leo flopping over onto his side, Donnie falling back to lean against the TV, and Mikey falling against Raph's shoulder to grab his stomach. Ryu grinds her teeth.

"Hello! What is so funny to you people?!"

They all find some way to raise their arms and point towards her and Ryu glances in front of her. For some reason her arm is raised out straight in front of her, her palm opened flat towards the floor, but then she sees why.

The metal sphere is floating in midair, a little shaky, but it's rising with each second. The joy she'd felt deep down a moment ago comes back, filling her up, and Ryu burst out laughing as well; her eyes water a little as the happiness reaches her eyes, but she doesn't care. Standing up, she finds the hold on her new power, still beating through her arm in time with her heart, and pushes it out to grab the metal orb. The earth sings that all too familiar song that she's missed so much, and the metal lifts in a blur and slaps into her awaiting palm.

She grabs it and raises it into the air with a shout before swinging her arm around Mikey's neck and hugging him close. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are awesome, Mikey! A pure genius. A straight up mastermind"

The other laughter around the room stops and they both look to find the other turtles staring at her like she's nuts. "Hey," Mikey shrugs, "Don't argue with a genius."

"What is all this commotion?"

They all flinch at Splinter's angry voice and turn around. As he walks over to them, Ryu smiles and lifts the metal sphere into the air again with her power and pushes it across the room towards him. The distance is a strain on her, but she fights through it to make the sphere twirl around Splinter's shoulders a few times before dropping into his hand. He catches it and stares down at it for a few moments before looking up at his pupils.

Ryu wraps her arms over Raph and Mikey's shoulders to tap Donnie and Leo's shoulders beyond them and smiles up at Splinter, "Sorry for the noise, Splinter. We're all fine here...finally."

Splinter returns her smile, "Then you all must get to sleep. Tomorrow we start training."

He leaves them to their cheers and hoots, but they finally break apart to head back to their rooms. Ryu fingers the metal sphere in her hands excitedly; how could she possibly sleep now.

So instead she paces the room, tossing the sphere back and forth between her hands as she does.

"Not going to be sleeping tonight, are you?"

Ryu stops pacing and turns to Raph as he plops back down on the couch. She smiles at him and shakes her head, "No way. I'm finally back to normal…well, mostly. I should thank you, Raph." She sits next to him and pulls her legs up to her chest again as she smiles at him, "I mean, you were wrong about me not needing to be there because if I hadn't I wouldn't have been fixed, but you were right about me being stubborn. I've had to teach myself for the last ten years to rely on myself. I don't really…know how to rely on others. So it's kind of hard."

Raph stares at her as she fiddles with her metal sphere, soaks in the glow that has returned to her features. His hand moves on its own, reaching up to muss her hair as he stands up, "Well, if you need to learn then the next time you want to go somewhere, let me know so I can go with you. That way I can be around to save your butt if you need it."

He scratches the back of his head before heading off to his room, Ryu staring off after him in wonder. Had he just…

 _No way,_ Ryu thinks, _He couldn't have._

"Get some sleep," Raph calls back to her as he disappears into his room.

Ryu stands up and her jaw drops. There's no way he could have…this is Raph that we're talking about; he's too stiff to do something like that. She replays his words in her head over and over for a long time until the lair goes quiet once more.

She's not sure if she should take his words that way, but deep down…she kind of wants to. _Did he just ask me on a date…?_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	17. Chapter 16: 2-12 Of Rats and Men

**Finally winding down now... Three more chapters to go... The "** _target_ **" will be making an appearance soon...**

 **Also, Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _16_**

 ** _2-12: "Of Rats and Men"_**

Ryu focuses on the metal and earth spheres between her hands, floating them around in a circular motion above her lap. Mikey sits next to her, watching in interest, with his head in his hands and his legs folded indian-style like her own. When Donnie hits the floor again, they both look up and Ryu stops her orbs in midair. Raph puts a foot on Donnie's chest and flips his sai in his hand, "Yield?"

Donnie lets out a heavy breath, grabbing his brother's foot, and coughs, "Y-yeah. Yield."

Raph grins and pulls his foot away.

"Yamete!" Splinter calls. They all stand up, Ryu remaining where she is, and go to kneel in a line along the side of the room as Splinter steps in from his private room. "You have all done well these last few days. Today, I will teach you the illusion of control."

"The...what now?" Mikey asks, sharing a look of confusion with his brothers.

Ryu smiles softly to herself and goes back to practicing with her spheres, _I remember this lesson with the older students back home._

"Leonardo, take your stance," Splinter instructs. Leo glances around uncertainly but stands up and goes to take a position in front of Ryu. Splinter pulls out a blindfold and explains, "You will attack me."

"I don't know, master Splinter," Leo answers uneasily, "This…doesn't seem fair."

"I assure you," Splinter smiles, tying the blindfold into place, "It isn't."

Ryu snickers under her breath.

Shrugging, Leo draws his sword and attacks. Ryu pauses in her exercise to watch, but only catches Leo's sword swinging down onto absolutely nothing. She leans to one side in order to see better around him and raises an eyebrow.

 _Didn't know Splinter was that fast…_ Ryu thinks in amazement. A split second later, Splinter appears a few paces before her behind Leo.

The other turtles start laughing up a storm.

"Swing and a miss," Raph teases as Leo stands up to his feet and Splinter begins circling his eldest son.

"Blind fighting is more than honing your other senses; it is about perception and giving the illusion of control," Splinter instructs and he simply walks with his hands behind his back as if he's easily walking down the street. Ryu keeps spinning her orbs, but her eyes are focused on the fight. Splinter looks completely at ease in his own skin, whereas Leo draws out his second sword and crouches lower in anticipation.

He attacks again, over and over, but Splinter easily evades his son's blades as if he's just dancing to a song. "You may think you have the upper hand in a situation but," Splinter dodges another volley of attacks from Leo before grabbing him sternly by the arm to stop his blade, "You do not."

He throws Leo across the room and Ryu winces, dropping her orbs to the floor heavily as she scrunches up in reaction to Leo's pain.

"Looks like someone needs a shower," Mikey laughs.

"How's that floor tasting, Lame-a-nardo?" Raph adds.

Ryu glares at all of them for being so mean, but then she spots Splinter appear out of nowhere behind them and her eyes widen in expectation. And right on cue, he uses the end of the handle of Leo's blade to beat them all on the back of the head with one swing.

They all bend over from the hit, grabbing their heads in pain.

Ryu grins and snickers again as Splinter carries on, "It is not hard to sense loud mouths-." Her eyes perks up when he suddenly turns away to face the wall, grabbing his head strictly. She narrows her eyes slowly, expression becoming worried, as all the other turtles carry on with their laughter.

A feeling, a very bad feeling, seeps into her through her legs from the earth below her. The feeling is dark, foreboding, sinister. Her breath stops cold in her chest as her gaze falls to the wood floor. Her whole body shivers from the cold that takes over her.

 _ **Run…run! Danger!**_

 _What?_

"You! Turtles!"

Ryu's eyes jerk up in alarm at the anger and hate in Splinter's voice, her heart skipping a beat in her ribcage. The turtles all turn to look over their shoulders at him in confusion.

"You will fall!" Splinter raises Leo's stolen sword high into the air and Ryu reacts, racing across the floor and sliding out behind the three turtles whose backs are exposed to the attack. He bring the sword down with such a blinding speed that Ryu can hardly keep up with it, but the earth below her flashes power up into her arms like the whip of a vine, leaving her breathless. Her hands move on instinct as she grabs his right hand firmly and lets her other hand open wide to catch the blade above her head. The blow forces her down to one knee harshly.

Everyone goes still as silence takes hold of the room. No one dares to move, fear gripping their bodies in terror.

 _What just happened?!_ Ryu's thoughts scream as she tries to get her breathing under control again. Adrenaline pumps through her system, making her lightheaded. _Splinter wouldn't do this! This isn't him!_

Splinter abruptly loosens his grip on the sword, his eyes blinks rapidly as if he's coming out of some sort of trance. His breathing is ragged, sharp. When he sees the blade in his hand, Ryu gripping it before him, her form held defensively before his sons, he drops the sword as if it burns him.

"Master Splinter, are you alright?" Leo gasps, coming over to his father's side. The other turtles stand up behind Ryu and she follows suit, taking a deep inhale. Her palm is stinging but she's too worked up to notice.

Splinter drops to his knees, his back to his pupils, and he folds his hands in his lap, "I am sorry, my sons, this is…something is wrong. I must meditate. We will continue this training another time."

Everyone moves hesitantly to leave, Raph patting Ryu's shoulder to get her to stir, and they all head out the doorway. She grabs her boots outside the exit and sits down on the bottom step to slip them on. Her palm flares up with the movement and her whole arm recoils in on itself. She lifts it up to the light to see and her eyes widen.

A gash from the upper part of her palm below her index finger all the way to the opposite lower corner of the heel of her hand bleeds freely, the red blood dripping down her arm and fingers.

"Hey," Raph suddenly drops down to a squat in front of her and takes her hand in his, surprising her, "We better let Donnie wrap this up before it gets infected."

Ryu stares at him for a moment, her thoughts barely able to catch up to the moment, and then she turns her gaze to their hands. He may have only three fingers and green skin, so different from her own, but somehow she doesn't even see the differences anymore. All she can see is his big hand gently handling her small palm, feel his warm skin beneath hers. It frightens her a little, all this weird nervousness building up in her.

"Come on," He holds out his other hand to take her uninjured one and she lets him help her up, following behind him after picking up her boots. In the lab, Donnie makes her sit on top of one of the tables, a computer screen running a mile a minute beside her, as he cleans up her palm and then goes to find some gauze.

While he's gone, Ryu absentmindedly stares off into the distance, her thoughts trailing off to everything that just happened. What on earth would make Splinter go all crazy-eyed like he had? Better yet, _why_ would he go all crazy-eyed like that?

"Wow," Donnie's gasp draws her out of her head and she looks down where he's staring in amazement, "I will never get used to that."

Ryu smiles as she watches the edge of her now clean cut start to glow a bright pink-purple and begin fusing slowly back together. It's not healing as fast as it used to, but she's not going to complain. It's a start. At least she knows that her power is still, in some ways, the same as it had been before.

Donnie grabs her wrist carefully to get a closer look, "I'd love to check out your DNA sometime. It's got to be fascinating."

Ryu chuckles, "Not that fascinating. I passed all my tests and then had to go through the Trial. That's how I got these powers."

"You know," Leo starts from his place next to Raph against the wall across from her, "You never really went into detail about this…'trial' thing. What is it?"

"What was it, actually," Ryu corrects him as she picks up a screw driver to twirl through her fingers as she explains, "I was put through what we call the _change_ after I finished learning all the lessons of the league. The _change_ is…like…" She trails off, stopping the screw driver between her middle and ring finger and she tries to think of a way to explain it. She snaps her fingers, "It's sort of like how you guys were made only…not so drastic. The drink we take to face the trial is sacred and rare. It's an element only found on our mountain."

"And this drink is…?" Donnie trails off.

She only smiles at him, "Let's just say, the place it comes from…is one of the many myths of the world."

"The spring of immortality."

They all turn to look at Mikey who sits on top of a table nearby, ice cream cone held in both hands in front of him, and an expression so serious that Ryu can't tell if he's being genuine or not. Blinking in disbelief, she hops down from the table and goes to stand in front of him, grabbing his cute cheeks in both her hands and turning his head side to side to get a good view of his eyes.

She narrows her gaze and lowers her voice so that only he can hear her, "Can you read minds?"

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

Donnie, a few feet off to Ryu's right, busying away at some kind of chemical with his back to them, suddenly jumps to his feet with a huge beam on his face, "April!"

Ryu grins, practically seeing his emotions forming in midair against the steam coming off the chemical on the table. By the door, April returns the smile and then a familiar face pops in behind her.

Instantly, Donnie's mood darkens, "And Casey."

"Donatello," Casey replies back in a mirrored mood. Ryu muffles a laugh, grabs the apple waiting for her on the end of the table where she'd been at before, and then goes to stand next to Raph against the wall, crossing her feet as she brings her apple to her lips.

"This is better than a drama show," She mutters. Raph and Leo both snicker quietly beside her.

"I came to see if you guys could look after…" April turns to dig something out of her bag and then pulls out a cat, "This."

Ryu tries to cover her distaste. She's never been much of a cat person, but she's always loved animals. This one in particular looks like it's been through hades and back again.

Donnie and Mikey walk up to get a better look at the scary creature, "Aww! Look at you!" Mikey reaches out to grab the cat and lovingly runs away with it. He skips over towards Raph and Leo and grins, "Guy, we got to come up with a name for her. Ryu, you've got to help."

"Uh…I'm not really a cat person-."

The cat rears up in Mikey's arms and suddenly hisses at Ryu, swiping towards her angrily out of nowhere. Ryu just presses her lips together in a tight smile.

That is until a familiar cowardly squeal chimes out in alarm on her shoulder and then scurries down the back of her shirt. "YIKE!" Ryu jumps off the wall, grabbing everyone's attention, and reaches around to pull the creature out from under her shirt. Almost instantly he rolls up in a ball and turns to stone in her hand. Huffing in frustration, Ryu holds him out in her palm, "This is the reason I'm not a cat person."

Everyone comes up to gather around her hand to see the armadillo lizard in question, eyes wide in wonder, but when Mikey gets close, the cat starts hissing again. Gigi comes alive with a squeak and rushes up Ryu's arm in a flash, circling her neck and climbing up into her hair.

"Gigi, would you-!" Ryu stops trying to grab him and sighs, "He's wrapped around my braid already, isn't he?"

Leo and Raph, now standing on either side of her, lean back to look at her hair, "Yeah."

Ryu groans, rubbing her forehead, "Everyone, that is Gigi. He's an armadillo lizard, he loves to eat, he's afraid of anything bigger than him, and basically does nothing until he's hungry." Something pinches the back of her neck, making her flinch and reach back to grab whatever part of him she can, and growls, "And he also likes biting me."

"So…he's your pet?" Donnie asks, "Why haven't we seen him?"

"He's not a pet, he's a familiar," Ryu smiles, correcting him.

"Same thing as a pet," Casey states.

Dropping her smile, Ryu repeats through her teeth, "Not a pet; familiar. Everyone in the world has one, but finding them doesn't happen for everybody. It happens for the people in my village because of the lessons we're taught in the spiritual stuffs and what-not and…well, that's what finding your familiar is…it's a…spiritual…connection…thing…" Ryu trails off trying to find the right words, "It's complicated. I'll explain it later. Anyhoo, because he doesn't like cats, I don't really like cats."

The cat in Mikey's arms hisses in response and Ryu can feel Gigi tense up at the back of her head. "Well, it doesn't mean we can't help her out," Mikey says, cuddling the cat in his arms as he takes her over to the table where is ice cream cone has spilled off across the surface, "Can we keep her?"

"You know, master Splinter is a rat," Donnie points out.

"Yeah, what if that cat goes nuts and attacks him? She could feed off his body for months," Casey laughs. Everyone in the room throws him looks of disgust. "What?" He shrugs.

"You know, there is something seriously wrong with you," Donnie snaps.

"Bingo," Ryu agrees.

"So,"

Ryu turns to Raph who scratches his head as he stares down into his palm. She raises an eyebrow in question and goes to stand next to him. To her wonder, Gigi has somehow ghosted from his place wrenching her hair off her head to Raph's hand where he's now curled up asleep on his back. His mouth hangs open and his tongue flopping out of his mouth with a big goofy smile.

"What's an armadillo lizard anyway?"

Ryu watches him reach up to scratch Gigi on his exposed belly, which is a complete sign of trust from an armadillo lizard, and Gigi curls up to hug Raph's finger lovingly. Her expression drops to a glare as she grinds her teeth, jealous. "They're from south Africa, very rare. So rare in fact that it's been forbidden to sell them as pets anymore, but I know a few people who have been extremely lucky to find a few courageous sellers who are braving the risk of major fines."

"Is everything okay, Mikey?"

They all look over at the younger turtle as April calls to him and Mikey grin nervously, grabbing something up from behind him and then scooting out the room suspiciously, "Yeah, yeah, it's cold-I mean cool! Everything's cool. Cool like ice cream; ice cream's cold….heh heh…uh…"

Ryu watches him scurry out the door quicker than anything she's ever seen, narrowing her eyes suspiciously, but shrugs it off, "Speaking of ice cream, anyone else getting the muchies? I haven't eaten since last night."

"And whose fault is that?" Raph asks, walking past her towards the door with everyone else as he continues to rub Gigi's belly. Ryu glares after him.

* * *

In the kitchen, they all pause as they enter the room, spotting Mikey talking to the inside of the freezer. They glance warily at each other but go to stand around the small island in the center of the kitchen anyway, but when Mikey starts hugging himself and making slurping noises they all get a little weirded out.

"Mikey," Leo calls. The younger turtle jumps with a start, slamming the refrigerator closed before turning around to face them and wrap his arms protectively around it. The movement causes a container to fall over and spill cereal down all over Mikey's head.

Ryu raises an eyebrow.

"Uh…I didn't do it, I swear I never touched it, and-!"

"What are you babbling about?" Raph demands, crossing his arms on the table and glancing across Ryu and Leo to glare at his younger brother. Suddenly, off his shoulder, Gigi growls in alarm, springing to life, and flings himself into Ryu's arms in a panic.

"Gigi, what are you doing-?" She tries to asks the terrified creature, but he just scurries down her shirt and into the side pocket of her cargo pants. "Uh…okay?" She glances up at Raph, worried. She's never seen her familiar so terrified before; almost as if he sensed something coming-.

"Uh…"

That cold feeling of dread come shivering up her spine in a flash, making Ryu tremble at the sudden frost drawing goosebumps across her skin and shuddering her heart, and she wraps her arms around herself. Raph grabs her elbow to steady her, eyeing her carefully.

 _ **Run! Behind! Danger!**_

They all look up as Splinter enters the room slowly, grasping his head from an obvious headache, "Need ice…for my head…and possibly…a cheese-sicle."

"You can't do that!" Mikey cries, turning to slam the freezer door as Splinter tries to open it, "No, sensei!"

Splinter abruptly stands tall, turning a deep, dark glare on his son, "No? You tell me…no?!"

Ryu's heart stops as the cold feeling digs its claws into her soul and starts freezing her veins solid. She side steps into Raph, eyes targeting on Splinter, and she plants her feet firmly against the floor. The earth under her is practically screaming at her rising panic, the song floating up into her in a rush and lending her its power.

Splinter screams and his eyes roll back into his head, closing for a second, but when they open again they glow a dangerous, wild red.

 _ **Run! Danger! RUN!**_

 _No!,_ Ryu forces back as she grips her fists tightly, _I won't run!_

Splinter knocks Mikey away, dropping down on all fours like a feral rat. Everyone gasps and turns to stone in shock. When Splinter leaps at them, everyone comes to life and scatters around the room to avoid his attack. Ryu skids across the room, sliding into the side of the refrigerator as Casey ducks down behind the counter to hide.

She glares at the kid angrily, _Some help he's going to be_.

As Splinter comes skating around the corner across the slick floor, his red eyes target her and Ryu presses herself against the refrigerator door, heart pounding in her ears. He leaps at her.

"No!" She flings her arms out, sweeping them across her chest, and her power whips out to grab the nearest earth it can find: pots and pans. They slam into him and flip him through the air where he lands on his back across the island in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"Help him!" Leo orders and Ryu rushes in along with the turtles to hold the flailing Splinter down along with pots and pans that have merged into a metal belt across Splinter's torso. But in a burst of strength no one was prepared for, Splinter breaks free of them all, knocking them all away.

Ryu is slammed into the wall, the pain breaking the chain of power inside of her as she slides to the floor. The earth's song dulls to a bare audible hum in the back of her skull. Breathing heavily, she looks up from her place one the floor as Splinter stands up and a new voice speaks through him, making him sound possessed:

"I got what I came for. Soon New York, and the world, will be mine!"

 _What the-?!_ Ryu jumps to her feet as Splinter turns on Mikey again, April, protectively by his side, and growls. She forces out her power, calling on the earth again, and it responds to her call a bit slower than before. Her arms and legs shake weakly as she soaks up the power and reaches out towards the pots and pans, all deformed and broken, to lift them off the floor and slam them into Splinters body as he leaps at Mikey again. He's thrown back into the wall to her right, the pans folding around his limbs and body before digging into the concrete wall, and he struggles against the hold. Ryu can feel each of his jerks, all of them draining a bit more of her strength with each tug.

 _Come on, Ryu, hold on!_ , she chants to herself.

Then, just as it started, all of it stops; Splinter's eye return to normal and he slumps against the wall as if the presence that had taken over him has left. He glances around shakily and then his gaze stops on Ryu who's arms are still stretched out towards him to hold the metal into place. She gazes back at him, her expression relaxing into a smile as she realizes that he's back to normal. Relief washes over her, leaving her lightheaded, and she releases Splinter from the wall as she sags against the counter top over the cabinets next to her.

Someone comes to hold her up, grabbing her arm to support her and Ryu glances up to find April staring at her worriedly.

"You were glowing," April whispers under her breath as the redhead slings Ryu's arm over her shoulder to hold her up.

"Huh?" Ryu doesn't get her answer before Leo rushes to Splinter's side.

"Sensei, are you okay?"

"What happened?" April calls her worries.

Splinter sits up off the floor and, with Leo's help, stands back up shakily, grabbing his head, "The Rat King has returned."

Silence takes the room as the tension becomes thicker than fog.

Ryu breathes out a heavy groan of annoyance, "Anyone want to…fill me in?"

* * *

Ryu draws her knees up to her chest beside Raph and Mikey as they sit on the floor next to the TV, watching the news report of the giant rats running rampant through New York's streets. Eyes wide, she starts to wonder whether she should be reporting this back to her guardians, asking for help. Better not though. They'd probably be lecturing her for not being out there now trying to help the people. That is what her village does anyway.

Her eyes shift off towards the lair entrance, _Maybe I should be out there. I've gotten my strength back up…_ She takes another swallow of the Gatorade sitting half empty in front of her feet and then screws the cap back on as she tunes back in to the news report.

The news lady is just closing out her report on camera when she's snatched up by one of the giant rats that are 'snatching people away' as she had put it. The screen flips off to one of those weird 'stand-by' screens, followed by the long 'beeeeeeep'.

"Giant rats," Casey whines, grabbing everyone's attention, "Giant rats!" He collapses onto the couch and slumps over. Ryu glances over her shoulder at the kid and raises an eyebrow. She'd be judging him if these were just normal rats, but seeing their disfigured forms on the TV screen…Ryu shivers and throws the kid a concerned look; she can understand how he's feeling.

"Maybe you should sit this one out, Casey," April pats his shoulder.

"We could really use your help, sensei. Last time, you took that creep down with one punch," Leo turns to Splinter. Ryu turns on the bean bag chair to get a better view of the conversation, blinking as Raph and Mikey both stand up in their places to face their teacher as well.

"Last time was different, Leonardo, the Rat King has grown too powerful. I do not fear for myself, but for what he could…force me to do," Splinter rejects the idea almost instantly, folding his hands behind his back and closing his eyes. Ryu bites her bottom lip. They had all filled her in on what happened last time this 'Rat King' creep had done and if they were telling the truth, she agrees with Leo. Splinter would be a big help in this fight. But, from what she experienced in the kitchen when Splinter had been taken over and forced to attack them all…

Ryu sighs at the memory, taking another deep swallow of her Gatorade as she tunes out of the conversation, _I don't think Splinter would be a good match to go up against if he is taken over again. I could barely survive the attack in the kitchen_. She stares down at her knees, still a little weak from the fight half an hour ago. Her eyes trail back to the TV; those rats had been pulling people down into the sewers… _Maybe I could find them…_ , she thinks.

Leo sighs, looking to his brothers, "Alright, guys, we're going top side. Get ready."

The turtles run off, but Ryu stands up and calls, "What about me?"

Leo turns around and shakes his head, "Sorry, Ryu, but you're still recovering. You need to stay here."

She watches him run off to the lab with Donnie, but then glances up at the spiral ramp she sleeps on. Ryu jumps up and grabs the edge to pull herself up and starts pulling out her uniform from her bag. It's been a while since she's worn it, but it feels so good to know she'll be changing into it once more…the others just don't know it yet.

She waits until April and Casey go to meet the turtles at the entrance and for Splinter to go back to the dojo before slipping into the bathroom to change. She pulls on her boots last and then slips out of the lair silently so that Splinter won't hear her. Outside, Ryu makes a right turn instead of a left to follow the turtles.

The darkness swallows her as Ryu follows the tunnels farther into the sewers.

* * *

"Okay, Ryu, just breathe," Ryu chants quietly to herself as she peaks around another dark corner. She'd searched around for nearly half an hour before spotting the first one and, boy, were they bigger than they looked on TV.

"And uglier," She adds out loud.

The rat is carrying something in its mouth, but it's too dark to see anything down here except outlines. And so that's why Ryu is only able to follow quietly behind. If she attacked one of them down here without knowing what they were capable of, she could get her butt kicked. She pulls out her phone to check the time and then slips it back into the side bag on her belt. With as much time that has gone by, she's sure by now that they've found out that she's gone.

 _Sorry, guys, but I'm not sitting on the sidelines anymore_.

"It's done. Finally!"

Ryu's ears perk up, catching the distant dark laughter she finds oddly familiar; the same voice that had spoken through Splinter back at the lair. Ryu glares at the wall in front of her, "Evil laughter, took over Splinter, wants to take over the world…yeah, that sounds like about enough reasons for me to kill him."

Slipping out from around the corner, she follows the big rat into a lit hallway that leads out into an open room about three floors high, each floor marked clearly by the walkway that circles above her. Hanging from the ceiling by chains are metal cages filled with people, one in particular catching her eye.

 _Casey,_ Ryu groans, _Why am I not surprised?_

Something comes up behind her, setting of her senses, and Ryu picks up her foot to rip out the small knife from inside boot, spinning around on the threat behind her. She slams him into the wall, bringing the knife under his throat, but then blinks.

"Why are you sneaking up behind me like that?! Are you trying to get killed?" Ryu hisses at Raph under her breath. He's about to answer, but Leo steps from behind him.

"We're in enemy territory. We kinda have to 'sneak around'," He tells her.

"Not on me, ya don't," Ryu glares at him as Donnie and Mikey move in beside them to investigate the room beyond. "Speaking of sneaking, what took you guys so long?"

"Casey got kidnapped," April tells Ryu.

Ryu throws her a look of annoyance and jabs her thumb over her shoulder at the cage in question, "Yeah, I noticed."

April looks up and smiles but then looks confused, "Is that…Irma?"

"Who?" Ryu looks back at Casey's cage and spots the girl next to him. Black wig and glasses… _Yep, definitely see what Casey meant by Irma look-alike_.

"We can't let the humans see us, April. You and Ryu are going to have to free them," Donnie whispers.

"Hold on, I'm not doing the side work," Ryu snaps. She turns to Leo and glares, "I'm fine, Leo, I want to help."

"You are helping," He answers, "By getting these people to safety."

"But-!"

A hand lands on Leo's shoulder and they all turn around to find Splinter behind them.

"Sensei?" Leo smiles.

"It is time the Rat King is dethroned," Splinter nods at his sons.

"I knew you wouldn't let us down."

"If I should lose control, do what you have to do," He tells Leo. All the turtles nod and take off into the room beyond. Ryu grabs Splinter's arm to stop him.

"Splinter," She starts, "I can do more. I'm not hurt anymore, I'm better now, please let me help."

Splinter places a hand on her shoulder and stares down at her, "And so you will, young pupil. You are going to come with me. If I should be taken control over again, I fear you and Leo and the only ones who will be able to hold me back from hurting anyone."

Ryu's expression becomes anxious, "Splinter, if you're asking me to fight you…I can't."

Splinter nods, "I trust you will do what you must. Now, come."

She follows after him into the room, keeping to the shadows as they run to get into position. Ryu settles in on the floor level above, looking down over Leo and Splinter as they peer out of the shadows on the level below. Leo pulls out a knife, flipping it through the air, and raises it back to throw it at the Rat King across the room from them.

His hand is stopped suddenly and Ryu blinks as the Rat King looks up over at them with a grin. Even with his eyes covered in bandages, somehow it's as if he's looking right at them. Ryu shivers at the feeling of dread that slithers into her again; automatically, she looks down below her. Splinter is the one who has stopped Leo's hand.

And his eyes have gone that crazy wild red again.

"No," Ryu gasps. In the span of a blink, Splinter flips Leo on his back and starts forcing the tip of the blade down towards Leo's face. "NO!" Jumping down, Ryu slams her foot into the earth and the section of the floor under Splinter moves, tossing him back into the air.

With the floor section still in the air, Ryu flips it and hurls it across the room at the Rat King and his sorry excuse for a Halloween costume. A giant rat leaps up and takes the blow for the man, landing on the floor before him and going still. The earth falls in crumbled debris around him.

"That's low, Rat," Ryu snarls, "Forcing them to do that just so you don't take a hit."

"I didn't force my friend to take that blow, but I will force yours to make sure you get your punishment," The Rat King grins again, showing those gapping, horrid teeth.

 _ **MOVE!**_

The power inside her screams again, letting loose that overwhelming song, and Ryu spins around just as Splinter is swinging the knife at her. She dodges but the knife catches her arm by a hair, drawing a line of blood along her upper right arm.

"Splinter, stop!" Ryu cries, dodging as fast as she can and just barely avoiding another injury. He's too quick, though; she's never been fast enough for him. The knife catches her at the hip and then at the base of her neck before she hits the wall. Splinter's red eyes remain blank, uncaring, as he flips the blade and then rushes at her again.

Already breathing heavy, Ryu does the first thing that comes to her mind.

She bows.

"SENSEI!" Her voice breaks the chaos around the room, bouncing off the walls around them over and over until the earth sings from her voice. Ryu squeezes her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the pain of the cold blade to bury into her back. "Sensei, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"Ice Cream Kitty, AWAY!"

Ryu's eyes pop open in surprise as Mikey's voice barrels through the room almost as loud as hers. A second later, she can hear the Rat King scream in aggravation and something hissing terribly. Splinter's feet shuffle back across the floor in front of her and Ryu looks up, hopefully. He's grabbing his head again, but his eyes are back to their normal deep brown.

When he comes back to his senses, he looks up at Ryu and he smiles, "Well done."

Ryu sighs, a relieved smile breaking out across her face, and she points out behind him, "That was Mikey."

They both turn around to see some strange cat-like creature scratching violently at the Rat King's face.

"Wait…Is that…April's cat?" Ryu glares at Mikey on the level below them.

"A-absolutely not!" Mikey crosses his arms defiantly.

"Yeah..." Ryu rolls her eyes, "Sure." They all watch as Splinter leaps across the room to chase after the Rat King as he tries to get away and Ryu follows after him with her eyes. "Leo," She calls over to him.

He turns to look at her over his shoulder.

"I'm going after Splinter. Don't try to stop me."

Leo just smiles and gives her a thumbs up before taking off to help his brothers.

"Watch his back, Ryu."

She winks down at Mikey's statement and the jumps to skip across the tops of the cages to the level where Splinter had vanished down. She slides down the narrow round hole dropping below her like a slide and lands on the wet floor of a new area below. The tunnel is huge where she emerges from and dark down both ways.

 _Which way, which way,_ Ryu thinks, staying crouched on the floor as she looks both ways into the darkness. The earth below her is singing in time with the vibrations in the tunnel and she closes her eyes to listen. She can feel the tremors under her fingertips where she's squatted, but they're heading away from her. Her head pops up, her eyes darting right.

"Gotcha."

She races off into the darkness, letting the earth's song guide her. When she reaches the end, she's met by a thick layer of fog that sticks to her skin like glue, choking her like smoke. Coughing, Ryu stumbles to a stop and fishes out her gas mask. It clicks and whirls as she slides it on and almost instantly the air clears. Around her, there are tall pillars of rocks, like old ruins, standing like chess pieces on a board. Below her, a chasm of absolutely nothing but fog and darkness. She swallows, hating the feeling of the unknown resting below her.

Shaking her head, Ryu stands back up to full height and looks around the room, _I couldn't have been far behind. They've got to be around here._

"Arg!"

Ryu jerks her eyes up and spots a cascade of rats pouring down over the side of one of the pillars and biting at Splinter's hands dug into the side of the rock. He falls a few heart stopping floors, knocking into overhanging ruins as he goes, until he finally grabs the side of a pipe line.

Gasping, Ryu kicks up a good sized boulder from the ground, spins it around her until it floats above her and then flicks her fingers towards Splinter. The rock above her disintegrates rapidly with deafening cracks as it flies out over the chasm in sharp daggers towards the pillar. They stick into the metal and rock all the way up the pillar like arrows.

Splinter looks up, seeing the spikes, and starts grabbing them to climb his way up again.

There's a terrible hissing noise that comes right at her and Ryu jumps up, narrowly escaping a huge, nasty bite from the giant rat. It swings its tail, wrapping it around her and hurling her through the air.

"Ah!" Her body slams into the side of a pillar and then she's falling. For a petrifying moment, she's loose, free-falling, dropping through nothing but air to her death. The lack of earth, not being grounded, it's the scariest feeling she's ever felt in her life. "AH!"

Out of the corner of her eye, something shiny catches her attention, and she reaches for it without thinking. The metal pipe, not an inch in diameter, clangs from the impact of her body weight and bends a few heart retching centimeters under her weight.

Above her, the giant rat screeches.

"Shut up!" Ryu growls. She glances around her, trying to find something to use. She's not sure if she's ready to try flying again, her power may not be up to full for that yet, but she really doesn't have any choice. She pulls herself up and stands balanced on the bar as she grips the side of the pillar. Her arm rears back, filling up with power, and her fist smashes into the side of the pillar. It rumbles from the force groaning as cracks spit and zig zag their way up the sides, and then a large chunk starts to pull away from the wall. Her pipe is attached to it.

She climbs up to the top carefully, pebbles and dust breaking away under her feet, and then says one last prayer before kissing her butt goodbye. Planting her foot into the side of the pillar and pushing all the power she dares into her boulder, she kicks off and waits…

The boulder turns...twists...and then rotates over, carrying her with it.

"Agh!" Ryu slides and she's forced to grab onto the pipe again to keep from falling off, "This is so not funny!"

Her outburst explodes from her, her power rippling from her arms and into the air around her. The boulder stops turning. She glances sideways at it, still breathing hard, and eyes it suspiciously.

"Thank you," Ryu replies sarcastically. Thankfully, she's able to unsteadily lift it into the air, at normal turtle slow but it's a start, and she sets it down gently until her feet can touch the floor. She sags on her pipe, letting her arms dangle over it to the floor as she breathes a sigh of relief. "Never thought I'd love the feel of the solid ground…so much!"

The giant rat turns towards her, coughing a few hisses.

Her head turns towards it slowly, eyes narrowing angrily, "Are you…laughing at me?"

The rat cough-hisses louder.

"Oh, you think that's funny?" Ryu's frustration bursts forth out of her hands again as she grabs hold of the pipe and lifts the car-sized boulder off the ground with her power. She flips it over her head and swings it down like a baseball bat to a baseball, burying the giant rat, and it's mocking freaky laughter, under it. "How about now, cackles? Not so tough now, are ya?! Now you're a rodent pancake! Now **that's** funny!"

"Uh…"

She looks up out of her rage to find Splinter staring at her on her left and the turtles staring at her from the tunnels on her right. She shrugs irritably, "What?!"

"You…are thirty-one flavors of crazy," Leo says carefully.

Ryu thinks about it, eyeing her handy work with the rock with a bite of her lower lip, and nods in agreement. Splinter shakes his head again with a dissatisfied sigh, rubbing the center of his forehead. Glancing up at him and finding him free of harm, Ryu can only shrug and grin up at him sheepishly.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	18. Chapter 17: 2-12(Part 2) Raph

**Two more chapters to go... The "** _target_ **" is about to be revealed...**

 **Also, Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _17_**

 ** _2-12.2: "Raph"_**

Back at the lair, deep night has fallen, well past midnight, but one soul still sits up restlessly. Her legs swinging to the tune she hums under her breath as she plays a game of solitaire on her phone screen. The lair around her is still and calm, peaceful, as the other souls slumber on into their dreams.

Finally through with her game, she sets the phone down beside her and folds her hands across her stomach to stare at the bottom of the ramp as it spirals up above her. Each grain in the wood stands out in the light from her phone screen; the rusty bolts still shine a few specks of their former shiny iron.

Something seizes her ankle but before she can scream, Ryu is pulled from her perch on the ramp and down towards the ground. A hand clenches over her mouth, cutting her scream short as she's pulled back against someone.

"Can't sleep?"

Ryu's gaze narrows and she pulls against the hand over her mouth until it's pried loose. She spins on him and jabs a finger at his chest, "Raph, what is your problem? You could've given me a heart attack! Why are you sneaking around like that, you could wake someone up!"

"No one's going to hear me, I got ninja stealth. We all do," Raph points out and Ryu picks up on the hint, glancing around in the shadows for the others. "They're in the lab."

Raph takes her by the arm and pulls her into the lab where Donnie is already typing away on the computer with Leo and Mikey standing close by. As they approach, Donnie turns around and holds out a needle towards her.

Ryu holds a hand to her chest and mocks hurt, "Donnie, for shame! The least you could do is ask me on a date first!"

"Ha ha," Donnie glares back sarcastically. "I'll politely ask your permission to sample some of your DNA if you don't mind."

Shrugging, she holds out her arm and Donnie pricks her skin just inside her elbow with the needle. She looks elsewhere to avoid having a panic attack; she's always hated needles. Donnie withdraws the needle and rolls away in his chair back to the table he'd been at before.

"So you were telling us before about the trial you went through," Leo says to Ryu, grinning excitedly.

Ryu rolls her eyes, _He's such a nerd_. Her answering smile is mixed with a laugh, "I passed it at twelve years old, but it can happen at any age. What it is, is that after we learn and pass all the lessons of our village, they bring us to the summit of the mountain and give us a swallow full of a bright blue liquid that kind of glitters like stars. That time when we fought against that Mutagen Man dude, I saw Donnie give him something that looked similar to it."

"That was a few simple chemicals mixed with mutagen to create a super freezing solution that cools the target at negative 100 degrees-."

"UGH!" Raph bangs his head against the wall, cutting off Donnie's explanation. Ryu glares at him as she sits down on the table top next to where Donnie is busy looking under a telescope at her blood sample.

"What were you saying now?" She asks.

"Never mind that," Donnie's shoulders go stiff as he lifts his head away from the telescope to look up at her. His eyes are wide, full of shock, and Ryu sits up away from him warily.

"What?" She asks slowly.

"You're…not…" He trails off, gluing his eyes back on the telescope to confirm whatever it is that he's seen. The tension is as thick as goo in the air as everyone leans closer to where Donnie is working. "You're not…"

"Yeah, we got that part. What did you find?" Raph demands angrily. He crosses his arms across his chest next to where Ryu sits and she throws him a look. "What?"

"Calm down," She pats his arm comfortingly with a smile, "Take a deep breath."

Raph grunts defiantly and looks away, but she swears that she can see a little pink touch his cheeks but it could've been her imagination; a reflection of light off his mask. Who would know?

"Ryu," Donnie touches her arm.

"Yeah?"

"You have…mutagen…in your blood."

Ryu laughs, "Yeah, right. Seriously, what's up?"

Donnie's expression stays the same.

Ryu nudges his arm, "Seriously, Don."

Still no change.

Her smiles falters, shaking, as her eyes widen, "Seriously?"

Donnie nods.

Her smile falls off entirely and all the color drains from her face. None of her thoughts can complete themselves, not a single breath can come out steady. _No way…_ Ryu tears off the table and reaches down to snap the small chain off her bare ankle. Across from them, there's a canister of mutagen and she grabs it up to yank off the metal lid. The mutagen inside sloshes around, threatening to spill out, but she sets it down before it can. Ryu holds up the chain above the opening and crushes the last small diamond-like jewel in her palm. Before the bright blue liquid can seep away into her skin, she turns her hand to the side and the cold fluid rolls across her flesh and drips into the mutagen, leaving no drop behind.

The second the blue, cool substance hits the surface of the mutagen, a bright light like the shine from the moon, only a million times brighter, explodes through the room. They all jerk back and cover their eyes against the bright radiance that seems to almost physically brush against their skins as it envelopes them. When the cold light finally fades, they all drop their arms slowly to peek at the conclusion. The mutagen has been transformed into the brilliant radiance Ryu remembers from so long ago at her own trial.

The mutagen is glowing brighter now, a dazzling blue, and shimmering with sparkles like a whole galaxy of stars now floats inside the canister. Ryu's heart drops in defeat; she'd hoped it would be different, something to tell her that Donnie's words were wrong.

Overwhelmed by a sense of upheaval, Ryu's knees go weak and she sinks to the floor, unblinking. Her hands lie limply in her lap across her cotton pants, trembling fiercely.

The turtles squat beside her and Leo shakes her shoulder a little, "Ryu talk to us. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" Ryu asks quietly, her voice choking in her throat. She moves her heavy hand and points up at the glowing canister sitting on the table, keeping her eyes to the floor in front of her, "You tell me. I'm half mutant. You tell me!"

Leo glances at Mikey and Donnie worriedly, not sure what to say. Donnie, being directly in front of her, stretches out an arm and takes hold of her shoulder firmly, "Ryu, how did you get the mutagen on you mountain?"

"We didn't know. Not even the Dragons knew. They told us they had found it on the mountain centuries ago. We didn't know...what it was…"

Donnie lets go of her shoulder as Mikey rubs her head, "Hey, it's okay, Ryu."

Ryu glances up at him, uncertain of what he means.

"'Cause now you really are one of us!" Mikey swings his arms wide, forcing Donnie and Raph to duck to avoid being hit, "Well, half-ish, but still. Welcome to the family!"

Seeing his carefree smile, she can't keep the smile off her face, no matter how weak it is. Mikey knows just how to get her to laugh; he doesn't even have to try. "Thanks, Mikey, but having this kind of information dropped on you is kind of hard after years of thinking something else." Her eyes travel up to take in the glowing canister again, sitting silently on the table as the galaxy inside it swirls obliviously.

"Ryu, I have to ask. Who are these…Dragons?" Leo says.

Ryu drops her eyes again, "They're ancient elders, some centuries old, that were blessed with really awesome power so they could protect the world. Every-so-often they find someone who they believe has the potential to carry on the lessons and guidelines they teach and those few are brought to the village to be trained. If those people pass all the lessons, they go through the trail or the _change_ as we call it and are given the powers they need to go on missions to help people. The trail is taken so that the followers, or disciples, can learn to train their powers as a…preparation for the final step to becoming a Dragon themselves."

"Wow," Mikey's jaw drops slowly.

"Do you even know half of what she said?" Donnie asks him.

"Nope, not a word," the younger turtle grins.

"Wait, so you're going to become one of them, Ryu?" Leo asks.

She shrugs, "If I pass the preparations. So far I have but no one knows when this stage is over. Only your spirit guides will let you know."

"Spirit guides?" Raph raises an eyebrow in question.

Ryu smiles gently at the confused expression on his face but nods, "Another thing everyone in the world has, but the spirit guides only appear before their wards if they chose to."

"Hmm…I wonder what mine is…" Mikey scratches his chin. "Ah! A turtle!"

"We're already turtles, idiot," Raph smacks him, "We don't get guides."

Ryu shakes her head, "You're not just turtles, Raph. You all have a consciences now. Anyone who is pulled by the actions of right and wrong has a guide. Animals only go off the instinct to survive and protect. You guys aren't animals."

"Well, technically-."

"You know what I mean, Don," She throws him a look.

"Yeah," He lowers his gaze to the floor.

Leo stands up and starts pacing, "I wonder what mine is…probably an eagle! No, a lion!"

"I betcha mine's something really cool," Mikey follows his brother, staring off into the distance. "Ooo! A vampire!"

"That's a fictional monster, Mikey," Donnie groans, standing to slap him. "Vampires don't exist."

"Then how do you explain April's dad?"

"He was MUTATED!" Donnie snaps.

Ryu zones them out, dropping her gaze to her hands and letting her thoughts drift. She'd made it through the change…she'd drank mutagen and spirit water…she's half mutant… The realization is just too much for her brain to handle.

There's a sound outside the lab and everyone's head snaps up. "Master Splinter!" Leo hisses.

Donnie pulls the chain on the small desk lamp he used to work by, not daring to turn on all the lights for fear he'd wake up sensei, and the room goes dark. "Scatter," He calls to everyone. Ryu jumps to her feet and heads for the darker shadows across the room, pressing herself against the wall to the left of the entrance.

The door to the lab, cracked just a hair to keep a view to the lair outside, slides open all the way and Splinter glances in. At one point his gaze settles right on her and she fears she's been caught, but then another second goes by and he turns his gaze in another direction.

She breathes a silent sigh of relief.

Splinter accepts the fact that he was just hearing something and shuts the door all the way, just making the room that much darker. They all step out quietly from their hiding places and go to the lab door cautiously. Donnie opens it a smidge and they all glance out into the lair beyond.

Abruptly the door is jerked open and they all fall out in a pile on the floor beyond it. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! You are all grounded," Splinter lectures.

All of them groan, dropping their heads to the floor in protest.

"To bed, all of you!"

Ryu sits up, somehow ending up on the bottom of their pile, and props her chin on one hand, tapping her fingers with the other irritably, "Now I remember why I never wanted brothers."

"You got us anyway!" Mikey rubs her head again with a goofy grin.

"Ugh!" She drops her head to the floor again.

"To bed!"

They all scramble to their feet at Splinter's raised voice and hurry off to their respective rooms, Ryu leaping up to the spiral ramp above the living room. She hastens to pull her covers up around her shoulders and then waits quietly, listening for Splinter's footsteps to fade to the other room. She takes a quick look back over her shoulder to make sure he's really gone before sighing and sitting up in bed.

Drawing her knees up to her chest, she lets her head collapse on top of them and closes her eyes. Even after that slight change of mood, an onslaught of anxiety still awaits her in her mind.

 _Mutant…even half…I'm a mutant…how can I tell the elders? Should I even tell the elders? How can I possibly explain that the sacred ritual that has been around for ages is actually partially made up of ooze from an alien dimension?_ , Ryu's body start swaying side to side a little as she groans in overwhelming uncertainty.

Then she faintly realizes that it's not her that's rocking herself, something else is. Her thoughts come back to the present and she can feel the hand on the back of her shoulders. She lifts her heavy head and finds Raph sitting there at the edge of the ramp with his legs hanging off the edge. His expression is blank, but somewhere behind that mask she can faintly see the concern hidden there.

 _But then again, that could be just me wishing it to be there_ , she thinks, dropping her head back on top of her knees again.

"Just sleep on it, Ryu."

Ryu peeks up at him, this time finding the concern staring her right in the face. Her heart does a funny kind of summer sault in her chest.

"It'll be easier tomorrow."

Not knowing what to say, she just buries her face again and nods. Raph goes back to rubbing her shoulders gently as she tries to breathe. When his hand come to her far shoulder, Ryu reaches up across her chest and grabs it shakily.

Raph's eyes widen a bit in surprise, but he hesitantly turns his hand and folds it around hers, taking her small palm into his and studying the feel of it. It's so alien against his own, different, unusual. One word crosses his mind and it makes his chest tighten heavily, _unalike_.

They were so different from each other, worlds apart, and yet he finds himself enjoying the warmth from her hand. He shakes his head, riding himself of the impossible thought and stares down at her. Even with her face hidden, he can sense the deep confusion wrecking her to her core. He'd seen the same thing attack April numerous times.

But he has never thought he'd see it from Ryu. She's so… strong all the time. Along with stubborn, defiant, and reckless, but who's keeping track?

Raph grins a little at the realization that hits him: They're a lot alike too.

Shyly, unsure of his movements, he leans over to place his forehead against her other shoulder, lending her support as she tries to fight through the internal war that, unknown to any of them, would change her life forever.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	19. Chapter 18: 2-13 & 14 The Project-Part 1

**One more chapter to go... The "** _target_ **" has finally arrived...**

 **Also, Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _18_**

 ** _2-13/14: "The Manhattan Project-Part 1"_**

"Mind your feet, Ryu," Splinter instructs as he watches on at their sparring battle. Ryu has her legs and forearms wrapped up again in her sparring bindings only this time she's not using her feet.

That morning, she had braved all embarrassment and asked for Raph's help. And now she's not hearing the end of it.

"Yeah, keep moving your feet, Ryu," Raph grins mockingly, "I could easily take you down if you don't keep running.

Ryu grinds her teeth in frustration, but swallows her opinion and keeps circling him. She twists her new weapons in her hands, the crescent moon-shaped blades shining against the light in the lair. She'd chosen to spar out in front of the dojo for a reason, Splinter observing from the ledge overlooking the waterway quietly, but she's not about to give away her secret.

Raph is supposed to be helping her learn how to use hand held weapons since he's so versed in his sai.

"I'm not running," Ryu says under her breath.

"What was that?" Raph chuckles, "Did you just surrender?"

"Don't flatter yourself," she shoots back, quickly turning to the side as he swings his sai at her. Her toes spin on the floor as she forces her power into the cement. The floor lifts a little, tripping up his foot and he falls to the ground. Ryu goes to stand at his head and grins down at him teasingly. "You're not that good," she finishes.

Raph flips over his head, bringing his feet back under him, and leaps at her. She brings her weapons up to protect her face and their weapons clang together. Both of them lean into weapons, leaning their weight against each other as they try to force the other back, grunting with effort. Sure he's stronger than her, Ryu can feel that, but she's determined to hold him at bay until that strength finally wears off.

His anger may be his downfall, but if he really put his mind to it, he could turn that rage into some serious power. Just imagining it gives Ryu plenty of reasons to be wary of him in the future when they spar again.

"Guys! Guys!"

Ryu pulls away first in a flash, looking up curiously as April and Casey come rushing in, and Raph falls forward through the air to the floor. She winces, "Sorry, Raph."

"Whatever," He grumbles into the floor.

Ryu hands off her weapons to Splinter who goes to put them back in the dojo and she helps Raph to his feet so they can head to the lab to find out what all the screaming is about. The others are waiting for them there, all gathered around April who holds something shiny in her hands. As they approach, Ryu spots the object in her palms and doesn't need to know what it is to know where it comes from.

Her eyes narrow in annoyance, _Kraang metal. Joy. And here I was so hoping to see the last of that crap._

April holds it up in the air for a second until it finds a way to float on its own magically and then pokes out a slender finger at the three purple buttons in the center of it, "And then you press this button and voilà!" The device shoots out two of its corners, dragging out a triangle of pink-purple light with it, and they stretch to the floor. "Portable portal," April finishes.

Ryu sits down on the floor to pull off her bindings and slip on her arm warmer, stockings, and boots as she listens in on the conversation from the side lines.

"Wow," Donnie gasps in wonder, "The Kraang are always one step ahead." They all stare at the portal wide eyed for a long time, boring Ryu to tears until Donnie finally continues, "I wonder if this is behind all the earthquakes?"

Ryu shudders at the memory. While they had been out, Ryu had stayed behind to get in more practice with her new weapons, but a terrible earthquake had interrupted the sparring lesson and she had been stunned by a wake of pain that had ravaged her body with something more mental than physical. All she can remember was the frightening pain that had shook the earth and her. She told Splinter about it after it had passed and he suggested that maybe since April's psychic attack merged her more intensely with her power than they had originally thought; she could now possibly feel the earth's pain. Ryu's not sure about the assumption but it's all she has to go on so she's going to take it.

As they keep talking, she eyes the portal. Being stuck down here so much without any surface time except to go to her job during the day really has her going stir-crazy, so she's ready for a change of pace. Right now, though, she's wishing it didn't have to do with something she hated-aka the Kraang.

The second the group starts arguing about testing the portal and Casey stepping forward with all his egotism to go first, Raph shoves him back with his own ego. Ryu rolls her eyes at the boys, instantly reminding herself never to have kids when she's older, and reaches for her face mask hanging from her belt. If these idiots want to stand around wasting time to beat their chests at each other, they could have fun.

She slips on her mask after changing the settings and then runs at the portal, leaping into the air and curling up into a ball as she flies through the pink-purple screen sideways. A shout of her name is cut off as she exits to the other side. Rolling across the ground, she finds her footing and stops herself.

It's like she's standing in a long hallway full of doors, only this isn't a hallway and these aren't doors. The invisible walkway she stands on seems to float in midair amongst a thunder storm. The rumbling, gray clouds flash lightning to neighboring clouds angrily. It's not exactly the most happiest of places to pop out into.

 _What the hay…?_ , she stands up, eyeing the other pink-purple portals identical to the one that just swallowed her, and glances down at her mask. _Well, might as well give it a shot._

She reaches up and pulls off her mask, waiting for the doom.

Nothing happens.

Ryu takes a slow breath cautiously, tasting the air.

Again, nothing happens.

The air is normal, maybe a little stale, but it's normal. Perfectly breathable, sweet earth oxygen. She grins and pops her head back through the portal to the group; they're all glaring at her.

"You can breathe…at least I found that out," She grins sheepishly before pulling back through. The group comes in behind her and goes through the same gasps of awe she already went through.

"Wow, it's like the 'grand central station' of dimensional travel," Donnie observes. "The Kraang must use it as a gateway between realities."

Leo stops beside Ryu to cross his arms and glare disapprovingly at her. She shrugs, "What? You guys were taking too long."

Behind them, the portal unexpectedly shuts with a _whirl_ and they both turn around in horror.

"Uh-oh," Ryu mumbles.

"Guys, the door's gone! We're trapped!" Mikey exclaims, grabbing his head.

"There's thousands of doors, everyone start searching for a way home."

Everyone obeys Leo's command and splits off to look through the doorways to the other dimensions. Ryu passes by many that look interesting, but nothing familiar.

One was an upside down world where the 'people' traveled by some sort of flying stick machines. Another with demon looking people who had different shaped horns on their heads. One dimension where everything was green and slimy. And then there was one where the scene looked like the inside of a cave, stalagmites hanging like daggers from the ceiling, and a white-blue liquid filled up a pool like area.

Ryu stops at this one, admiring the beauty beyond and silently wishing she had the time to check it out. Leaning closer to the doorway, she tries to get a better look below and notices that the pool has four giant hovering crystals around it, each with a strange carving facing off in a different direction. The carvings looked familiar almost, but she's not about to lean farther in to check it out and risk dying of oxygen depletion.

Behind her, the group is discussing something she's not really focused on, but then she hears Donnie mumble something about a 'nice jumpsuit' and she slowly turn to look at him over her shoulder and make sure he hasn't gone loopy.

"Guys, look!" Leo calls, pointing into a doorway, "I think it's Dimension X."

They all stop at his side and look in. There's no way it couldn't be Dimension X, the floating metal islands standing like pillars against the pink-purple sky behind them obviously made that clear. Ryu just recognizes the metal alloy that is so alien to her, bringing a glare to her face.

 _Hate you, hate you, hate you,_ she mental throws insults at the alien metal.

"This place is making my brain melt-."

April covers Mikey's mouth and closes her eyes, "Shh…I…I sense something coming!"

As if on cue, a hovering pedestal moves down from above towards the portal and they all cry out in alarm. Two Kraan brains are driving ape looking bodies while two others are flying those fly machines like hover cars next to them.

"Oh no! How do you close the door? Where's the…the knob? Where's the knob?!" Raph panics.

"Forget the knob, just run!" Ryu suggests.

"We can't run, we have to fight them. Get ready team," Leo draws his swords and takes a stance a few paces back from the door and everyone follows suit. The wait is agonizing, stretching on forever until the Kraang finally come through the portal before them.

The Kraang bots in the hovering machines fly through first, automatically firing lasers down on the group, causing them to scatter. All except Ryu, who just acts on instinct and throws her arms over her head. Her power reacts to her movement, stretching forth into the nonexistent walkway under her feet, and then there's an explosion right above her head.

But she's not hit. Ryu blinks in confusion, lowering her arm to look up. The Kraang fly back over again and try shooting at her once more. The laser hits against something over her…that just isn't there.

"What the heck?!"

"Ryu, I thought you could only control earth?" April calls over to her from beside Casey and Donnie.

Ryu's puzzled expression still remains as she stares down at her feet. Whatever is below her sings up through the soles of her boots. "I can. Whatever this is, it's earth…or something," she explains. Tapping her foot against the invisible substance, the song rings out clearly in her mind and she smiles, reaching out towards it with her right arm, "I don't know what it is, but I can move it!"

She pulls her arm up with a jerk and the Kraang flying at her runs smack into an invisible wall, falling to the invisible ground. Taking the 'wall' she just pulled up, Ryu hurls it over her head at the Kraang ape heading towards Casey, April, and Donnie. Instead, though, the attack lands on Casey and she winces, "I just can't see where I throw it…sorry, Casey!"

Casey sits up, head spinning, but lifts a thumb up and spits out a tooth from his mouth with a grin.

Nearby, Leo leaps up and knocks one of the Kraang apes over to stab his swords into its back. The Kraang brain squeals and crawls out before it can take any more harm, squiggling away like a squid across the invisible ground. The other Kraang ape comes up behind him to attack and Ryu runs at it to stop it.

"Leo, watch out!" She shouts.

Just as Leo turns around, the Kraang ape slams its big hands in the ground breaking up the invisible ground and knocking Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Ryu away and tossing them through the nearest portal.

"Agh!" Their screams are cut off as they vanish through the portal and into the unknown.

* * *

"Ugh," Ryu groans, rubbing her head and shifting her feet and hands to make sure they're not broken. She'd move her whole body, but something is on top of her. "Please tell me I'm not buried alive."

"Yeah, you are. You're turtle buried," Mikey moans as he sits up off of her. Ryu props herself up on her elbows and lets out a sigh of relief, happy to have Mikey's weight off her back.

"Ow."

Blinking, she looks down to find Raph under her. Their eyes meet, green to an amber, and time seems to stop for a second. She's never really realized how…amazing his eyes are…

"Guys, anytime now," Leo grunts from below them.

They both gasp in surprise, their eyes widening in embarrassment, and they both scramble to climb to their feet. Their heads slam into something metal above them.

"Ow!"

"I swear you two were separated at birth," Leo mumbles as he pushes open the top of the dumpster and they look around the familiar alleyway of New York.

"We're back!" Mikey cheers.

"Yeah, but the others are still trapped over there," Leo argues as he hops out of the dumpster to the dark street.

"And the smart member of the team is trapped with them," Raph follows suit as he throws a glare at Mikey.

Half way out of the dumpster, Ryu pauses to glare at Raph's rude comment made to his younger brother but lets it go and drops to the ground. Her knees shake weakly and she clutches the side of the dumpster to catch herself. It must've been all that fighting from before; she hasn't had to use that much of her new power in a while. This exhaustion though isn't as bad as before, so she's hopeful that she's finally moving past this hill in her life. Now all she's got to get over is the whole 'half-mutant' problem.

"This is your fault Leo. If you hadn't gotten us-."

Another quake shakes the earth under their feet, and shuts off Raph's complaint. The second the quake hits, a terrible pain shoots up Ryu's body and attacks her brain. Screaming, she hits her knees and grabs her head against the sharp strikes wrecking her mind over and over again. Someone calls to her, but she can't hear it over the high pitched sirens in her head, a song of pain that shrieks out from the earth.

As it passes, so does the painful screech and Ryu breathes in reprieve before standing up. Her head is swirling, throbbing in an aftershock of a headache, but nods to the turtles who stand next to her worriedly.

"We've got to find the source of these quakes," Leo tells the team.

"I'm with you," Ryu agrees rubbing her forehead, "Let's go."

They take off down the alley and turn the corner to head for the street, but it isn't meant to be. As Ryu runs, she can sense a new presence, something strong, leaping from the rooftops above. The figure lands before them and they all skid to a stop.

The second her eyes land on him, time stops. Her breathing halts in her throat, her heart pauses in her chest. The wind around her ends suddenly as if waiting to see her next move. Her whole body turns cold, the blood in her veins changing to ice.

The memories break loose in her head.

" _Go! You have to run!"_

" _Momma!"_

" _Go, get out!"_

" _I don't want to-!"_

" _Listen to me, you have to run! You have to get out! I have to get your sister."_

" _No!"_

" _Get to the tree, your father will meet you there. Go!"_

" _Noooo!"_

" _GO!"_

The roar of the distant flames snarls in her ears, the screams of distant shadows rip through her heart. Her eyes start to sting with anger, tears welling up inside her. She's not going to hold it back now; this is what she's trained herself for. This is the day she's been waiting for.

This killer would die tonight.

With that single thought, her power breaks lose in a song she knows all too well, burning up the inside of her body and setting her skin ablaze as if her insides have melted away into burning hot magma. The pain hurts, drawing the tears from her eyes, but she doesn't push it away. If anything, she welcomes it.

She lets it consume her, her rage empower her, her need for revenge burn through her like the fires that this creature had set on her. Her hands ball into fists as her whole body begins to shake and tremble with the explosion of wrath within her.

"You may call me Tigerclaw," he's talking to the others, hasn't taken note of her yet. When he does, for a second, his face is hesitant, shocked, but then he grins darkly, "Well, well. If it isn't my old friend."

In a snap her vision turns to that dark tunnel, zeroing in on the devil, the murderer, the one who destroyed her life, and then it goes completely dark.

Let them all see.

She doesn't care.

This is what she truly is…

* * *

Mikey is the first to look back at Ryu and what he sees isn't right, "Uh…guys!"

Raph and Leo spin around at their brother's panicked scream and they gasp. Ryu's eyes are glowing that pink-glow from before only this time her whole eyes have been engulfed by the illumination, her irises the brightest of all. Steam is lifting off her skin, splits and cracks shattering it across her arms and legs and face as it starts burning off, revealing that same colored glow underneath.

"What the heck!?"

"Ryu!"

Suddenly, she lifts her head and screams, starting off normal at first but then it raises in tone until it's unnatural, like the shriek of something not of this earth. The glow blasts from her, tearing out of her eyes, ears, and her mouth as if it's originating from her very core, and it immerses all of them. They're forced to cover their eyes against the light.

"What is this?!" Tigerclaw roars.

When the light settles, they all turn to find Ryu no longer standing there. Instead, there's a creature with Ryu's form except the whole body is made up of a strange metal, gleaming in the moonlight. The only thing on her body left that belongs to Ryu is the silver-white hair shifting in the sudden uplift in the wind.

Tigerclaw laughs, "So you learned a new trick I see. It will make no difference here. You will have no chance against me, just as you had no chance against me the last time." He raises his gun at her, the weapon powering up as he readies to fire. Ryu's eyes, wide and wild, like the stare of a feral animal, shift in a flash at the gun. Her head tilts to the side, eerily, curiously.

Tigerclaw fires. Ryu vanishes as the bullet explodes on the ground where she had been. Raph blinks in surprise, glancing around. Where had she gone?

Tigerclaw grunts and leaps to the side in slow motion compared to the attack that slams into the ground at his feet. The ground tears open, lifting up around the edges of the crater created in the asphalt as Ryu lifts her eyes towards the fire escape where Tigerclaw has jumped to. She tilts her head again, watching him as he raises his gun to fire again. She opens her mouth, the inside glowing the same color as her mouth as if her insides are on fire, consumed by pink-purple flames, and shrieks the cries of the earth up at him.

He fires and she vanishes in a blur again, faster than any of them can keep up with, and leaps over the laser to fly at him. Tigerclaw bounds away again, jumping farther up the fire escape as she blur back into existence and swings at it with her hands that have shifted into long, sharp claws. The fire escape falls away in splinters as if it's nothing.

Tigerclaw grinds his canines, "What are you now, child?"

Ryu's glowing gaze lifts up slowly from her place on the ground to stare at him. She doesn't answer. Instead she jumps up and digs her claws into the side of the building, climbing up after him with incredible speed.

He disappears to the roof above, Ryu hot on his heels.

"Come on, guys, we've got to get to high ground," Mikey calls to his brothers as he jumps and grabs what's left of the fire escape to follow them.

"Mikey, stop," Leo orders, "We don't even know what just happened! We don't know what she is!"

Mikey turns to stare down at them over his shoulder, "I know what she is. She's my friend. I ain't got time to wait around for you cowards."

Leo and Raph glance at each other. "What do you think, Raph?"

Raph looks back up at the roof, hearing the battle above faintly. Mikey's right; Ryu is their friend, no matter what she is. "Ryu has her own right to her secrets. I'd be worried if she didn't have any," He answers, grinning at his brother. "Besides, you can't honestly tell me you're not impressed with that kind of power."

Leo shakes his head as Raph goes after Mikey, "Splinter's going to kill me."

Up on the roof, the brothers find Ryu fighting against Tigerclaw still…or rather, it's Tigerclaw fighting Ryu, as she flashes around in blurs of movement to avoid the blasts from his guns. One bullet nicks the top of her arm, knocking her off balance and she skids across the ground, her metal skin sending a spray of sparks across the roof.

"Hey!" Raph runs at Tigerclaw, striking at him with is sai, but he avoid each swing before firing his gun on him. Raph is wrapped up in a coil of rope and sent flying.

Ryu's eyes target the movement, following Raph's form across the roof, and then takes off after him. Leo realizes that her movements are centered on attack and he rushes to protect his brother, but a second later Tigerclaw fires his guns at Ryu again and her trail is alternated in a flash to rush at him instead.

Leo blinks as he stops in his tracks, "She reacts to movement. She only attacks things that move." He glances at Mikey who raises his weapons, spinning the chains, and panic hits him, "Mikey, stop moving!"

"What?"

"Stop moving!"

Tigerclaw dodges to avoid Ryu's claws once more, but her head spins around towards Leo's shout, her eyes targeting him, and he takes the distraction to kick her square in the stomach. She's thrown back in a flash into the concrete wall behind her, the contact shattering her metal skin like glass across her back, and her mouth opens to scream out in pain, the eerie cry piercing the night around them. Her body falls to the ground and doesn't move. The cracks across her back glow that pink-purple glow that spills out from inside of her.

Tigerclaw approaches her, guns raised, and he presses a foot onto her back. The cracks spread dangerously, her metal skin crushing into the roof.

"Get off her!" Raph screams, struggling to get free from the ropes around him.

"Do not demand anything of me, cub!" Tigerclaw growls. He lifts Ryu's unconscious form and hangs her upside down over a hole in the roof where smoke and embers are pillaring out from some fire source below. "I will say this once: summon your rat master or this creature goes into the furnace."

"She's not-!" Raph growls, cutting off his own words as he realizes what he was about to say. "Don't call him, Leo. It's a trap!"

"I know it is," Leo glares at Tigerclaw, "Tell me the part where I have a choice."

* * *

Weak and drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness, Ryu slowly glides back into her body as her power subsides. Her eyes flutter open feebly, her vision trying unsuccessfully to pull out of the tunnel vision; it's been so long since she was taken over by her power. Her body is weaker than the last time she came out of the change. Faintly she can feel something heavily press into her hip, sliding her forward until her head tilts over the edge of something and falls to hang off the side.

A burning smell fills her nose. Fire, smoke, ash.

 _No!_ Fear fills her up, but she's too weak to move, to protect herself. It's then she realizes that her hands are tied up behind her; she's trapped and there's no way to escape the fire. _No! Please no!_

"Where is he?!" A familiar, distant voice demands, "If he does not show, I drop her into the furnace."

"Don't!" Mikey yells.

"He'll be here," Raph growls, "He'll come and rip you to pieces."

Ryu soaks in their words, her heart beating faster, strengthening her. What is happening? Being on her side, she can't tell what's going on, but she can feel it's something terrible. The earth is already reaching out to her, stirring her power.

 _Help me,_ she pleads with it, _Help me, please._

The earth's song soaks into her skin, filling her with its energies and she pulls in a deep, singed, breath of burnt air. It's not clean, but it's enough to give her the strength she needs to open her eyes all the way. The tunnel vision pulls out of her good eye, returning her normal sight, and Ryu starts to stretch her body. Her fingers first, then her wrists, then her ankles and knees, slowly moving every joint to search for possible injuries, but only finding sore spots across her back and the top of her shoulder. Whatever had happened to her must've been enough to hurt her.

There's a new shout, an even more familiar voice, and then a transfer of Japanese she can't quite pick up. A roar follows and then there are a few blasts. Gun fire.

Ryu focuses in on her power, calling louder to the earth, and the energies flow into her faster. With her strength slowly returning, Ryu grunts and forces her body to move so that she can roll over enough to see. With her hands tied up behind her, she's unable to roll over all the way, but it's enough.

"Ryu, are you okay?" Mikey exclaims, catching the attention of his brothers.

"Ryu!"

"What happened to you?"

 _That's right_ , she remembers, _they had been there to see me change…they had been so close…_ Unable to meet their eyes, Ryu looks back to find out what's going on and finds Splinter here fighting against Tigerclaw. Her breath is tight in her raw throat, heart hammering in her chest as she watches them.

"Did I…" Ryu swallows to rid herself of the sudden dryness in her mouth, "Did I…hurt any of you?"

They don't answer for a long time, but then Raph speaks, "No. We're fine."

Ryu squeezes her eyes shut, relief making her light headed. _Thank goodness…!_

"NOW!"

They all jerk their heads towards Tigerclaw's shout and there's a whistling sound that flashes through the air from somewhere. Ryu looks around to find the source, but finds nothing.

A second later, Splinter is reaching back to pull something from his neck and he's stumbling back to the ground, gripping his head weakly.

"Splinter!" Leo shouts.

 _No!_ , Ryu mentally cries, her heart clenching in her chest.

Across the roof, Karai drifts out of the shadows, her face still screwed up in that angry scowl. Ryu's eyes widen in alarm, shifting back to Splinter kneeling vulnerably on the ground.

 _No, no, no, no!_ Arching her back, Ryu pulls her hands apart, straining the ropes around her hands and they dig into her skin painfully against her strength. She tugs and tugs with all her might, grinding her teeth from the sting the ropes leave across her wrists, and eventually the ropes begin fraying and snap free.

She gathers what little strength she had time to gather and flips off the ground and into the air. Her feet crash into Tigerclaw's stomach as he walks by and he goes flying across the roof.

Ryu, vulnerable with no weapon to defend herself, slides to stand in front of Splinter and raises her fist in front of her, breathing heavily.

"Ha ha haa," Tigerclaw chuckles as he stands up, "You think you can fight us. I can see your knees shaking from here, child. Changing yourself the way you did has used up all that you had. You are useless now."

"I don't care where I'm hurt," Ryu breathes, "I will not let you hurt my family. I'm not that little girl anymore, you beast. You lay a hand on any of them and I'll take off more than your tail this time."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	20. Chapter 19: 2-13 & 14 The Project-Part 2

**Finally, the end is here. This is your last chance to leave a review. Hope to hear some kind of critiques or advice or...something along the lines of words from some people.**

 **Also, Ravyne has finished up Ryu's profile reference page:**

 ** _(h) (t) (t) (p) : / / kizyoi.(d) (e) (v) (i) (a) (n) (t) (a r t).c o m (/) a r t / TMNT - OC - Reference - Sheet - RYU - 558766381_**

 **[Just take out all the spaces and "()".]**

 ** _Review_ _Please! They won't kill you._**

 **-Katt B.**

* * *

 **Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _19_**

 ** _2-13/14: "The Manhattan Project-Part 2"_**

"What?" Karai laughs, "She cut off your tail?! I thought you said it was a man."

Ryu watches Tigerclaw's expression carefully and as expected, his eyes narrow just the slightest in anger, "He obviously didn't want you to know that a twelve year old girl was the one who hacked it off."

Karai laughs harder, holding her stomach.

 _Good,_ Ryu thinks, _Get their attention off the turtles. Keep it on me._

"Karai!" Leo calls to her.

Karai turns away to face him and Ryu swears under her breath, _Dang it, Leo! Shut up!_

"Karai, listen to me. Splinter, he's your father. You're true father-!"

"Shut up!" Karai orders, all smiles gone from her face.

"No, you have to listen to me!"

"I said shut up!"

"You're real name is Miwa and-!"

"I said shut it! You'd say anything to save him," Karai accuses.

"No, I'm telling you the truth," Leo pleads.

Now Tigerclaw turns to observe the exchange. _Leo, I swear! You're crush is not helping right now!_ , Ryu squeezes her fists tighter, wanting nothing more than to pull up a wall to guard them but her power is too diminished to do anything now. _What do I do? What can I do?!_

"Hey, Karai, if you hate Splinter so much, then kill him already!" Ryu shouts, stepping back to switch her feet.

"Silence!" Tigerclaw swing around lightning fast and smashes his fist into her face. Ryu falls to the ground, the hard roof bruising her hip and shoulder.

"Ryu!"

Breathing hard, she forces herself to sit up, glaring up at him. Something grabs her shoulder and she turns to look at Splinter. "Do not…" He tries to say, but his voice fails.

She ignores his pleas and climbs shakily to her feet, raising her fists again defiantly. Tigerclaw swings again and she blocks his arm with her left and throws all her strength into her right to punch his side. His giant paw grips her wrist, stopping her attack, and he twists her arm. She can feel something snap deafeningly and she screams in pain as she hits her knees.

"Stop it!" Mikey yells.

"Leave her alone!" Raph adds.

"Shut up!" Karai orders drawing her sword and stalking towards them.

Tigerclaw glares down at Ryu's fallen form, her body shaking weakly, "You are done. Give up."

Ryu sets her jaw rebelliously and grabs hold of her right arm to keep it from jolting as she stands up again, glaring at him again. Her legs barely hold her up, but she refuses to fall, turning her less beaten side towards him.

Tigerclaw growls and pulls his arm back to hit her again, but Ryu moves her leg in a flash, kicking upward and hitting him square in the jaw. He flies back, landing on his back. Tigerclaw sits up and their eyes connect, both of them wiping the blood from the corner of their mouths at the same time.

"You are stronger than last time," He admits as he gets to his feet, "But you lack the ability to know when you've lost."

"I was taught not to give up," She replies just as flatly.

"Go."

Ryu moves her head to the side, not trusting her eyes to leave his, and hears Splinter try to sit up again. His voice is weak but apparently he can still move.

"All of you, go," Splinter throws a ninja star right past Ryu's calf and it slashes the ropes binding the turtles across the roof from her. They stare down at the coils uncertainly. "Go," He orders one last time before collapsing on the ground once more.

Ryu gives up her position to kneel beside him worriedly, placing her good hand across his forehead; he's already burning with a fever. Whatever is in his system isn't good.

He reaches up and grabs her arm, "Run."

"No," She whispers, shaking her head. Suddenly, Tigerclaw kicks her hard in the shoulder and she's thrown over the edge of the roof. By some sheer luck, a fire escape catches her fall and she rolls over onto her back, grunting in agony. Above her, Splinter hangs a little ways off the edge of the ceiling and he stares weakly down at her.

"Go, now!" He forces out before he's pulled away from the edge and out of her sight.

"Don't let them escape," Karai exclaims from somewhere on the roof, "Forget the girl!"

Ryu stands up and hurries to press herself against the side of the building. Squeezing her eyes shut, she grinds her teeth angrily and hits the back of her head against the wall.

 _Defeated! I lost! I failed!_ , she curses herself.

Something soaks into her back and she recognizes the familiar song of the earth, whispering to her: _**Run! Leave!**_

Giving in, Ryu makes her way down the fire escape, careful not to jolt her arm, and hurries down the street out of sight.

Ten years of preparing-all to fail.

 _I'm still too weak._

* * *

The wind blows her hair across her face, tickling her nose. It doesn't affect her. She's too far gone into her meditation state; breathing quietly out of sight from her place in the shadows of a billboard sign. Ryu's counted the seconds, and the minutes, that have mapped out her time here; each one passing slower than any of her life. She lets the songs of the earth flow through her, strengthening her, filling her with power.

Every ounce of vigor that returns to her helps to speed up her healing process that much faster. Already, the break in her arm has fixed itself, solidified back into its proper position. The tension on her shoulder and across her back has eased and vanished to practically nothing.

Her heart has returned to a normal beat rate, her throat is no longer raw.

The healing is almost done.

The time for battle is next to be taken up.

Courageously, the moon finally peaks out from behind the dark clouds in the sky and sheds its light across her face, breaking her from her meditation and persuading her to open her eyes.

 _Time to hunt_ , Ryu thinks. The streets below are empty at the late hour, giving her plenty of space to jump down and run down the road without hiding. The moonlight lights her path, guiding her to where she needs to go. She needs nothing else but a hint as to where they've taken her sensei. She'll tear the city down if she needs to, level it if she has to; she will find him no matter what. No one touches her family and gets away with it.

She wouldn't lose any more family. Not while she breathes.

There's a whirling sound off above her. She stops just as one of those Footbots soars over an alley way, racing the rooftops above her. It doesn't notice her, not bothering to hide its actions from the world around it. It's obviously in a hurry, heeding the call of an order no doubt.

 _Perfect_ , Ryu takes off again, keeping the Footbot in her sights as it travels a few blocks before turning down a new street and leaping to the ground in front of a church-like building. She ducks behind a corner to watch the bot enter the building without a problem. It wouldn't be so easy for her, but she wouldn't let that stop her.

Footbots meant Karai, Karai meant Splinter, and Splinter meant that Tigerclaw would be in that mix somewhere. Ryu lets her eyes scan up the building, looking for a way in. There are two Footbots pacing the roof in front of a triangular-shaped stained glass window facing the street and she eyes it suspiciously. Why would they need to guard a window, no matter how easily it can be broken?

The moonlight comes out again and gleams off the window and she notices a flaw in it.

 _There's a hole there_ , she notes. Sliding back into the shadows, Ryu makes her way to the roof next door to the building and crouches low to get a good look at her attack point. The bots move in a pattern, taking five steps to the center of the ledge in front of the window before turning back to repeat those steps back to the corner. _I can work with that._

She waits until their fifth step to the center, right when the furthest bot turns its back to her, before leaping over the gap to the ledge. Of course the Bot nearest her sees her; that's what she wants. She tucks herself close to the slanted roof as best as she can, the Bot rounds the corner, and she whips her arms around its neck. With a deafening twist, Ryu rips the head off, avoiding the sparks from the exposed wires, and lays it down on the roof quietly so the fall doesn't alert the other one.

Ryu sneaks to the corner and peeks around at the other Bot. It has turned around to come back towards the center of the window, oblivious to the absence of the other one. Again, Ryu waits for it to take its fifth step and turn away from her before attacking. She pulls the small knife from her boot and hurls it through the air. The blade flips through the wind, spiraling quickly without a sound, and then it strikes right through the metal on the head. Sparks fly from the Bot's head as it starts to short out and Ryu hurries to catch it before it hits the roof loudly.

With the way clear, Ryu ducks under the sharp edges of the glass and crab-crawls along the hole until she makes it to the edge of a ledge that overlooks the room below. The long walkway leading to the chair at the head of the room is outlined on either side of the room by glass flooring stretched out over water. It must've taken a lot of money to have this place built.

The hairs on the back of her neck raise and Ryu swings her arm around, knife in hand, to attack the threat. Leo blocks her arm, stopping the blade an inch from his face. They both sigh in relief, Ryu dropping her arm to replace the knife inside her boot.

Leo inches forward to stop at her side and places an arm over her shoulders. They don't need to say anything, they're expressions say everything. Leo smiles and nods, forgiving her. Ryu smiles back, thanking him. With that he pulls her closer to whisper the plan in her ear as she stares down into the room at Splinter's limp form in the center of it all. She nods in understanding when he's done and together they jump down quietly into the main hall.

Hurrying to Splinter's side, they both grab a shoulder and gently shake him. "Sensei?" Leo urges, "Sensei?"

Splinter lifts his head weakly and stares at them both, "Leonardo, go, now!"

As Ryu is busy working to bend the chains off his arms, she's suddenly stopped by a loud eruption around the room as fires bursts into life along the sides of the building, surrounding them. Ryu freezes like stone, her eyes transfixed on the flames.

Leo draws his sword as Shredder appears at the head of the room next to the fancy chair, but Tigerclaw stops his arm, "So we meet again, my friend."

When Leo goes to draw his other sword, Tigerclaw only flips him and slams his smaller form against the floor. Ryu is broken from her trance as the fires vanish and she's abruptly pulled to her feet, spotting Leo held against his will with his arms behind his back by the over grown, double mutated dog, Rahzar.

Her own arms are pulled behind her by Tigerclaw who growls low in her ear, "You were foolish to come back. This will be your last hour."

"Where are the other turtles?" Shredder demands as he walks up. Ryu blinks up at the man, seeing him for the first time, and screws her face up in confusion.

"Dude, what's with the mask?" She asks. Tigerclaw smacks her hard on the back of the head before lifting his nose into the air.

"It's just him, master Shredder, he's alone," the overgrown tiger explains.

"Wow, cut off a guy's tail and he gets better smell; I should've cut off your ears instead," Ryu mumbles, only getting smacked in the head that much harder. Her head spins.

"Watch, children, as I destroy your rat master," Shredder draws out the blades over his wrists as he stalks towards Splinter who is still laid out across the floor. He breaks the chains across his arms, "Stand up, rat."

Splinter climbs to his feet, shaking his head against the poison obviously still wrecking his body, and takes an exhausted stance. Shredder attacks and Splinter can only barely dodge each strike at his body. Leo shouts in encouragement to his sensei, but Ryu can't find the words to do the same. She's too worried; watching from her place, she can see every falter in Splinter's steps, catch every waver in his movements, every drag in his defense. She pulls at Tigerclaw's grip on her, trying to get away, to go to her sensei's side, but the tiger holds his grasp harshly.

Ryu grunts in frustration, glancing back at Tigerclaw, _I can't just stand here, plan or no. I just made a promise to myself to protect my family. I won't start breaking promised now._ She lifts her foot and grinds her heel into the top of his foot, breaking his hold and racing forward to slide around Shredder and take a stance between him and her sensei.

"Foolish child! You think you can stand against me?" Shredder shouts.

"Depends," Ryu glares, pointing out his armor, "Is any of that alien tech?"

"This armor is centuries old, created by the wisest of the Foot clan," Shredder yells at her insult.

She grins, "Then yes. Yes I can." Ryu forces out her power to cross the space between them, the distance draining more out of her than she thought, and grabs hold of the metal that makes up his armor. Shredder roars out in alarm as she throws him off to her right. Tigerclaw is right behind him though, racing right at Ryu with his guns drawn.

Out of nowhere, anther quake shakes the room and hits Ryu with another slash of pain, forcing her to her knees. She grabs her head and screams, drowning out the grumbling of the quake around her. Everyone in the room is knocked off balance. When the quake passes, Ryu is freed from the pain and the withdraw leaves her breathless and her head spinning.

As she lifts her head again, her vision may be thrown off but she can still see Tigerclaw regain his footing and race at her once more. Before he can make it to her, fireworks explode into the room, throwing everything into chaos as they all scramble to avoid the blast and rockets that flail about the group. Ryu ducks next to sensei as the other turtles jump in and free Leo. They skid to a stop by her side and wait for the smoke to cover them from view before they take the chance to vanish.

"Stop them!" Tigerclaw screams, but when the smoke clears, they are already gone.

Back up on the rooftops above, Ryu follows a bit slower behind Leo and Raph who carry Splinter's weight most of the way. Mikey takes the lead to make sure the way is clear for them to move. They all settle behind a billboard, taking refuge under the criss-crossing metal beams that make up its stand, and Splinter sits up to go into mediation so he can rid the poison from his system. A few feet away, Ryu crouches on the edge of the building, staring down into the empty street below.

The world is quiet around them, not even the wind makes its presence known to them. The moon shines down on them, washing everything over in its pale blue glow. For such a dangerous moment, everything seems so peaceful.

"Hey."

Ryu looks up as Raph crosses his arms on the ledge she's crouched on and stares down at the street with her. "Hi," she replies in a whisper.

The wind stops again, practically screaming at her in irritation as if to say 'what is your problem?!' Ryu rolls her eyes and glances at him out of the corner of her eye. What can she say to him? Before she could have this thought, but now that he's seen what she really hides inside of her, he's got to be too disgusted.

"So…"

Ryu chews on her bottom lip, fearing his next words.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do later."

Blinking she meets his gaze and he smiles at her. _How can his smile be that adorable?!_ Ryu drops her face into her hands with a groan, "You're killin' me!"

"Huh?"

There's a small sound, both of them almost missing it, and they spin around with a gasp. Rahzar, Fishface, Karai, and Tigerclaw stand there behind them. Leo and Mikey steps out from behind the billboard and freeze.

"Found 'em," Mikey tries to laugh.

"Attack!" Tigerclaw orders.

Ryu and the turtles line up and wait for them to make their move. Karai goes after Leo, drawing him from the front of the line, Raph leaves the line up to face Fishface, and Mikey is left to tackle Rahzar.

"Ryu, guard Splinter!" Leo calls as he knocks Karai away before turning to defend himself from Tigerclaw's wrath. Ryu nods, but when Tigerclaw locks Leo's blade against the wall and smashes it to pieces, she's left with no choice.

Leaping over, she wraps her arms around the tiger's neck and pulls, jerking him off balance and they both go toppling over. She rolls over to put some distance between them, glaring at the jetpack he wears.

 _If I can get rid of that, it would level the playing field a bit_ , Ryu thinks. Tigerclaw gets up and bares his blade at her.

"So, we fight again," He growls, "Are you going to turn into that creature again or are you going to face me boldly?"

"That was boldly," She snaps, "But there's too many people up here for me to hurt in the process."

Tigerclaw smirks, "So I take it you cannot control that new part of you. Still a cub I see."

Screaming, Ryu attacks him.

Nearby, Splinter comes out of his meditation fully restored and tears to his feet in a flash. He spots Tigerclaw first, facing Ryu in battle, and his fears resurface. He would not let her walk this path any longer; it would destroy her.

As Tigerclaw reaches up, drawing out his claw to slice open her face, Splinter appears between them and blocks his paw in midair before flipping him over. Ryu watches in silence.

At first she's not sure what to think, but then anger starts filling up her heart again, "I had that."

"No," Splinter tells her, "This path is too dark. You must not walk it any longer."

"You have no say in my decisions! You're not my father!"

The battles around them come to a halt; all of them turning to face the raised voice. Ryu's memories start coming back to her; this had happened last time. She turned from Splinter when he was only trying to help her. _Well, he can't help me,_ Ryu thinks, _I won't stop until Tigerclaw pays for what he's done._

Tigerclaw lifts his gun, aiming it at Splinter from behind. Ryu catches this, eyes going wide, and suddenly a new memory comes to the forefront of her mind.

 _Her mother pushes her towards the door as the fire consumes the house around her, bits and pieces of the ceiling falling from above. The woman keeps telling her to run, to meet her father outside, but she just stands there crying. The woman finally pushes her out the door where her father grabs her and sets her down outside the house beneath a tree away from the flames. He tells her to stay put, to stay calm. All she can do is shake in fear, her eyes transfixed on the flames. She watches as her father turns and races back into the house, the fires swallowing him from her vision. She screams._

"NOOO!" Ryu pushes Splinter out of the way as Tigerclaw fires his gun. The laser hits her square in the right side of her chest, knocking her back across the roof. The cement surface digs into her skin, tearing the back of her shirt to shreds and slicing through the flesh under it like paper. As she slides to a stop, another quake rips the through the earth ad rocks the building. Pain sears into her skull again and Ryu's body instinctually curls up into the fetal position in an attempt to protect herself, but this attack she can't escape. This attack is mental, internal, breaking her insides to fractures all over again.

The earth screams in pain, Ryu's own scream joining it.

A few paces away, Karai loses her balance and goes over the side of the building. Leo goes to grab her hand but their fingers just graze each other and she goes down.

"No!" Splinter tries to go after her but Tigerclaw steps on his tail with a chuckle.

"Where do you think you are going, rat?" He grabs Splinter by the arm and flips him over onto his back, drawing out his sword and placing the tip at his throat with a glare.

The quake passes and Ryu opens her eyes a crack, studying what she's seeing. At first it's only shadows but as her vision clears and things come back into focus, she's met with the horror of losing another family member.

 _No_ , she growls, jerking her fist up and calling the earth up with her. It responds, singing angrily and jabbing up out of the roof to smash into Tigerclaw and throw him off Splinter. The use leaves her even more depleted. Leo follows up with a kick of his own and Tigerclaw trips off the edge of the building as Karai had, but Ryu can faintly hear him land on the fire escape just over the side. _Just like I had_ , she rolls her eyes.

Leo, taking the short minute of peace to kneel down next to his master, helps Splinter up to his feet. Ryu rolls over and forces her sore limbs to push her up into a sitting position nearby as she sighs. She needs to meditate again, she needs to have a serious training session; she's gotten too soft in her short time here.

The moment is shattered when a the earth tremors again, only this time it's only when something roars from nearby and the ground rips open below in the next alley. "What the heck?" She says to herself.

Suddenly a giant worm-like creature towers up next to the building, nearly as thick at the building itself, and roars again. Caught off guard by the huge beast, Ryu's doesn't see Tigerclaw leaping up into the air from the fire escape and drawing his sword on her until it's too late. Their eyes meet and for a split second all she can see is her long dead family smiling down at her from above.

 _Is this it? Is this really how I end? Did I really train all that time for nothing?_

She thinks back on all the time she spent learning, suffering through all those cuts, bruises, injuries from the older students just to get a chance to take on the trial. Even passing the trail had opened so many doors for her, had given her the chance she needed to get her revenge for her family. And for what?

To die at the hands of the one who had started this hell in her life in the first place? Is this really what was destined for her all along? Maybe she should've gone back in to save her family. At least then she could've died with them and been with them all this time.

The vision of her family above starts to fade, blur, mold into another picture.

Splinter. Leonardo. Donatello. Michelangelo.

Raphael… A stray tear falls from the corner of her blind eye, dropping soundlessly to the ground, vanishing into the earth.

The vision disappears and Tigerclaw is there again, falling on her from above with the blade aimed at her chest. She shuts her eyes in defeat, waits for the end.

There's a scream and Ryu opens her eyes. Splinter kicks Tigerclaw with a well-aimed hit to his chest and the tiger is hurled away out over the alley and, without his jetpack to support him, falls right down the worm's throat.

 _You're place is here, young one…_

The voice at the back of her soul, deep in the darkness of her power, rings like a familiar bell into her ear. But Ryu barely hears it, doesn't register it. Her eyes are frozen on Tigerclaw as he's swallowed whole by the worm-creature; her revenge dies right before her eyes, leaving her chest like a silent breath, and dropping an empty, dark hole in her stomach. All her anger, hate, and revenge shatter inside her. A deep sense of hollowness overwhelms her.

Only one thought can seem to form in her broken thoughts.

 _What…do I do…now…?_

* * *

"Woo! I can't believe we won!" April cheers as she hugs Donnie.

Mikey surrounds his brother, April, and Casey in a hug of his own and grins, "Well, I'm stoked you guys are back. Now the family really is whole."

"Yeah, you guys missed an awesome battle," Raph laughs, "Splinter took that Tigerclaw out without breaking a sweat!"

"You were amazing, master Splinter," April smiles up at him. "But I still can't believe that evil witch is your daughter. Sorry for being so honest."

Splinter shakes his head and just smiles, "Hopefully one day, she will listen to the truth, but that will be her choice. For now, we celebrate our victory."

"Yeah!" Mikey does a little victory dance in the center of their group, "Pizza time!"

April joins her laugh with the other's but notices that one laugh is missing. She turns to lean around Donnie and Leo and finds Ryu standing off by herself, staring off away from the rising sun. Her shoulders are slumped, arms wrapped around herself as if she's about to break into a thousand pieces at any given second. Certainly not the stance of someone who just won a battle.

Worry stricken, April walks across the roof to stand by her friend's side, "Ryu?"

She touches Ryu's shoulder gently and the girl flinches, turning her face away.

"Ryu, what's wrong?" April urges, going around her to stand in front of her.

She opens her eyes, her silver-white hair falling over her blind eye noiselessly, and April notices how dull her amber eye is. It's cold, emotionless, but her face shows nothing but the look of someone who's so deeply lost they'll probably never be found.

Ryu opens her mouth but her words are completely jumbled, "I…I can't…Don't feel…I-I'm going…I'm going home. I need to. Have to fix my head…I can't be here…I'm…I'm sorry."

"Wait, Ryu, hold on," April grabs her arms when she tries to walk away, surprised at how cold her skin feels, and looks up into her face, "Please talk to me. We can fix whatever it is, I promise."

"No you can't," Ryu cuts her off in a dull voice, her eyes becoming hauntingly distant in an instant, "I've got to fix it…I've got to go home…Clear my head…I can't do that here."

She pushes past April, heading to the edge of the building where a ladder trails down the side of it to the intersection of alleyways below. Ryu pauses only for a second to look back over her shoulder and tries to smile at the redhead, "Tell everyone that I'm sorry. I really am. More than anything."

April wants to say something, wants to stop her, but no words come to her. All she can do is blink back tears and nod stiffly. Ryu smiles a little wider before turning on her life here, on the family she had come to love so much and have now lost, and leaps from the roof.

When she hits the ground, she doesn't stop. She runs as fast as her feet can carry her. She runs until the morning blends in with the previous night and the world melts away from around her.

...

 **THE END.**

 **THAT'S IT.**

 **FOR REAL.**

 **SERIOUSLY.**

 **STOP READING.**

 **LEAVE.**

 **GO ALREADY!**

* * *

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _We DO NOT own TMNT._

 _Ryu, along with any other new characters, and our storyline is copyrighted to Katt B. and Ravyne._

 _ **Review please. They won't kill you.**_

 **-Katt B.**


	21. Chapter 20: NOTICE

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 ** _20_**

 ** _Not A Chapter:_**

 _As it says in the title,_

 _This is not a chapter._

 _This is a heads up._

 _Due to all the kindness we've received_

 _From fellow readers who have kindly taken the time to leave reviews,_

 _I have decided to continue with a second half to TMNT._

 _At first I was going to just leave it where it lied,_

 _Simply because I love dramatic endings that end in something_

 _Other than a 'Happily Ever After',_

 _But I felt that I needed to bring it to an end for the readers._

 _So as a 'thanks' to all who reviewed,_

 _I'll be posting up the second part soon._

 _It will NOT be attatched to this story,_

 _So you'll have to keep on the look-out for it on your own._

 _Here's the title that has been decided on by me and my co-writer:_

 _ **TMNT: Strike of the Dragon.**_

 _I look forward to seeing all my fellow readers from this story_

 _In the next installment…_

 _And I'll hopefully be able to reply back to those who comment_

 _Because I was unable to send my thanks back to most of those who commented._

 _Thanks again,_

 _From both of us._

 _-Katt B._

 _-Ravyne_


	22. Chapter 21: NOTICE UPDATE!

**Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles**

 **Rise of the Dragon**

 **PART 1**

* * *

 **21**

 **Not A Chapter:**

 _As it says in the title,_

 _This is not a chapter._

 _This is a heads up._

 _Due to all the kindness we've received_

 _From fellow readers who have kindly taken the time to leave reviews,_

 _I have decided to continue with a second half to TMNT:_

 ** _TMNT: Strike of the Dragon (**IS NOW UPLOADED!**)_**

 _Here's the new line up of what is to come next and what each is about:_

* * *

 ** _TMNT Spin Off: Bite in the Night_**

 _This is a spin off that was based off of a dream I had a few months ago._

 _It will only be three chapters and it's not a part of the original story._

 _This is just a fun little project I wanted to do._

 _I hope you all enjoy it._

 _It is posted so go take a look and let me know what you think._

* * *

 ** _TMNT: Strike of the Dragon (**IS NOW UPLOADED!**)_**

 _This is the next installment of the storyline._

 _Ryu returns to find New York overtaken by the Kraang after the invasion._

 _Now she has to go in search for the turtles and the rest of her family._

 _And she's brought two of her friends from the Dragon League with her._

 _But how will her family react to seeing her._

 _Especially with how she left them so dramatically._

 ** _(**IS NOW UPLOADED! GO READ IT!**_**

* * *

 _So that's it._

 _At least for now._

 _Ravyne and I are **DONE** working out the final three chapters of "Strike of the Dragon"._

 ** _IT HAS NOW BEEN POSTED!_**

 _Until then, I hope the "Bite in the Night" will hold you over._

 _If you can't find it in search, please go to our page to find it._

 _We are also starting up a third part in our TMNT series._

 _It's still in the mapping process so we'll keep you posted on any new developments._

 _Hope to hear from you all soon!_

 _Thanks again,_

 _From both of us._

 ** _-Katt B._**

 ** _-Ravyne_**


End file.
